A Heroine's Endeavour
by generic-faingirl
Summary: Part 3 of Marion's story. With the curse on the castle firmly in place, Marion can't remember anything about the boy she fell in love with. And when that same evil force tries to hurt her again, Marion's entire world is turned upside down, leaving far reaching consequences for our heroine. Part of AHJ series.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One.**

I awoke on a hard wooden floor. The light streamed through the window of my small room. My eyes peeled open slowly, and I noted a small pain in my head. My neck was stiff, annoyingly so, and when I tried to sit up, it cramped, forcing me to lie still for a moment until it vanished.

What had happened last night?

I must have rolled out of bed and hit the floor. I couldn't remember it.

I tentatively sat up and touched my forehead. It ached. I had a small bruise on the right of my forehead. Clearly I hit the floor quite hard last night. Why didn't I wake up? Maybe I knocked myself out. I should get Amelia to check I don't have a concussion.

I placed my arm on the bed and pushed myself up to standing. I glanced to my bed. It was in a pitiful state. The sheets were wrinkled and covered in what I guessed was sweat.

What had I done? Maybe I had a nightmare. That must be it. There wasn't another explanation for it. I hadn't had one this violent since I was a child.

I sighed. At least I couldn't remember what exactly had plagued my dreams.

'Amelia?' I shouted through the wall.

A grunt was the only response I got.

I reached up and gently touched the bruise on my head. There was a slight bump as well, and it still felt tender; it must have happened in the early hours of the morning.

'Can you come in here?' I asked her.

I heard another grunt and then slow footsteps.

Amelia was not an early riser.

She really wasn't.

In fact, I don't think I'd ever seen her get out of bed early, out of choice. There were several days when we had been working when I had to physically drag her out of bed.

My door creaked open, and Amelia gave me a sort of death glare; for daring to wake her up.

'Can you check this? I fell out of bed last night.' I said, still with my fingers to my forehead.

She seemed to wake up a little when I revealed the bruise. I couldn't see it, but I guessed it looked a delightful shade of purple.

Amelia walked over to me and gently inspected the bump, feeling it and pressing on it lightly. The she looked at my eyes and told me to look from one side to the other.

'Do you feel ill at all?'

I shook my head.

'No, just this.'

'You'll be fine. What did you do last night? You must have hit your head pretty hard to do this!' She asked.

'I don't know; I woke up like this. I think I had a nightmare, and I knocked myself out.'

'Fair enough. Now, if that's all, I'm going back to sleep. I have today off.'

And with that, she turned on her heel and practically ran back to her nice and warm bed.

I sighed. Typical Amelia.

It was Sunday, but I was still working. My family needed the extra money. I didn't mind working extra days for them, I would do anything to make sure they didn't starve. Especially now that Alexander and Father had no work.

My father lived in Rault, the village I had grown up in, with my five brothers and two sisters. After the hard winter, the work that they used to do had dried up, and we were now penniless. My wage from being a seamstress was supporting all of them.

My childhood friend Ella was giving them a little money to help them as well. After all, she was married to a Lord, and was going to be the next Duchess of the county when her husband inherited his title. They had plenty of money to spare. Ella was such a kind hearted angel, always looking out for me. And feeding my family, it was such a huge thing to me. It might only be a small and simple thing for her; but to me, it meant the world.

They were also getting help from another, unlikely source. Blanche, the outlaw lady of the forest had agreed to give my family aid from anything she could steal. She also promised me she'd use her special talents to keep an eye on my brothers.

Blanche was a very interesting person indeed. She had been born a noble, but been accused of murdering her father, a crime she didn't commit, and been on the run ever since. She'd also been blessed, or cursed, with a faerie's gift of the ability to speak to animals. So far, she'd used it to evade capture from those who still sought her out, even after three years of hiding.

We'd slowly learned to trust each other, after not exactly the best start. She did attack me after all. But we'd become friends in the two years I'd been living here in Milton.

I walked out into the main room of our little apartment, and glanced at the time on the clock.

Half past eight.

I was going to be late.

I sprinted back into my room and got changed as quickly as possible. I grabbed a little piece of bread from the table top and raced down the rickety old stairs into the workroom of Madam Cartwright's Dress Emporium. Thankfully, Madam Cartwright wasn't there yet, so she couldn't tell I was late. I ate the bread quickly before she could come in and see I was eating in the workroom (a big no).

I noticed a small vase of flowers placed on a side table in the corner. I hadn't seen it before. It was full of lot of different wildflowers, some of which looked several days old. Next to it was a small piece of paper and a pencil with a list of flower names on it.

The flowers that looked the freshest were a small bunch of blue forget-me-nots, positioned at the front of the vase.

They looked oddly familiar.

No, they couldn't be. I'd seen forget-me-nots a lot of times. That was hardly surprising.

Maybe they were Amelia's? I'd asked her about it later.

The bell at the front of the shop rang quietly and I could hear Madam Cartwright's heeled boots make their way across the wooden floor of the shop.

I quickly sat at the table and looked for something to sew. I found a sleeve of a day dress that needed hemming, and picked it up to look closely at the area that needed fixing.

Madam Cartwright peered in the room, saw I was doing some work, and left again without saying a word.

That was also normal.

I leaned back in my chair, slumping into it a little. I was tired and drained. I was not quite sure why exactly. I felt exhausted, like I had been overworked for the past few days. But I hadn't been. It had just been a normal week here, only sewing our usual orders.

But last night.

For some reason, flashes of night danced across my memory. Maybe I had woken up last night.

Oh well, there was no point debating it. I just had to get on with the task at hand. There was no use staring at the dress before me. With a sigh, I picked up my needle, and began to sew.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in its usual monotonous way. I spent all morning sewing, followed by a short break around noon to grab some more bread, and then went back downstairs to spend all afternoon sewing again.

It was dull, but it put food on the table for my family. And that was far more important than my amusement. I truly didn't mind working like this for them. They were my family, I would do anything to help them, in any way I could.

I loved them all, My Father and his loving if not a little overprotective nature. Alexander with his fiercely loyal and paternal instincts. Daniel with his dry sarcasm. Clara with her romantic temperament. Richard, who was always quiet and shy, but was very intelligent in his own way. Tom was friendly and caring to all those he knew. Robbie was the opposite of Richard, even though they looked more alike than the rest of us, always shouting and screaming. And of course there was little Gwen, the baby of the family; she was so sweet and caring, but did not like to get left behind by her older brothers. She would always complain if they ran out ahead of her, or dared climb the tree before her, she was quite like me in that respect.

I would do anything to make sure they didn't starve. I knew my father and the oldest boys were trying their hardest to find some more work so we could get back to supporting themselves, but after the hard and cold winter, work was as scarce as food. I just had to keep on hoping they would find something soon.

The clock struck five, and I was finally free of the day's work. I would have thrown the dress down, but I didn't have the energy. I wanted to crawl back into bed and lay there for the rest of the year.

However, I couldn't.

Amelia had gone to meet her friends in the village, after all it was her day off, and so had left me a few coins to go and grab some vegetables from the market before they closed to make some dinner.

On my own days off, I took myself off to a little secluded place, a beautiful pond hidden in the forest. I'd curl up against a tree and read all day. It was the best day of the week.

I pushed myself out of my chair.

I always went back to the same place, week after week. Why had I never gone and explored anywhere else?

A dizziness came over me, making my head spin a little. I gripped the back of the chair.

It disappeared as quickly as it had come on. I'd clearly just stood up too fast.

I spied the coins Amelia had left for me on the side table, next to the mysterious vase of flowers. I grabbed them quickly as well as the basket, and made for the market square.

The air was crisp and clear, just like a spring afternoon ought to be. There was no trace of the harsh and cold winter that had just been upon us. The sun was beginning to set in the distance and I quickly ran around the market and grabbed the things we needed.

There was one thing that slowed me down a little. Every market stall holder I spoke to seemed a little dazed. Just a fraction. I knew these people. I'd been buying from them for almost two years, and every one of them just looked a little off. It wasn't much, only a small glance over my shoulder, or a loss of following the conversation, or a slow gleam in their eyes.

Why was everyone behaving a little strange?

In my mind, I had to tell myself to stop being so suspicious. There was likely absolutely nothing to it. I was just imagining things. I had hit my head pretty hard last night.

Maybe that was all to it. I'd hit my head and was now seeing things that weren't there. It was me being strange, not them.

Of course it was, how could I have thought it was anything else.

And I was tired, so very tired. My mind was playing tricks on me, seeing things that weren't there, imagining things. I was being stupid.

I tried to banish the thoughts of doubt in my mind as I stood in the Kitchen and cut up the vegetables. There was no point thinking any further into these things.

Amelia arrived a little while later. I was almost done making the soup by that point, and so we sat by the table and waited.

'Good day?' I asked her.

'Yes, just my friend gossiping that's all. You?'

'I was stuck in that room all day. How do you think it went?' I said.

'Fair enough, you had the worse day.' She admitted.

'Out of complete curiosity, have you noticed anything strange about anyone today?' I asked, in a final effort to banish these stupid thoughts from my head.

'No, not really. Although I did hear something about Mrs Hale.' Amelia said excitedly. She did like a good gossip.

'Mrs Hale?' I asked. 'Oh, the widow who lives down the back street.'

I had met her before, a while ago. I met because…. Because…. Actually, I couldn't remember why I had met her. It was a while ago, so I'd probably forgotten with time.

'Yes, I heard that she's been acting strange all day. She went down to the market this morning and was asking everyone she met why she had a second bedroom. Of all the questions to ask about, isn't it ridiculous!'

That was strange. Very strange.

'I mean, she's been on her own for a long time now, it was really only a matter of time before she broke.' Amelia added.

Had she been on her own all that time. She must have. Then why did I think she'd been living with someone else?

Her husband had died years ago, and she had no children. The bump on my head must have been playing tricks on me again.

'I suppose.' I said quietly, and then noticed the soup was beginning to boil through, so it was about ready.

We ate quickly, and both of us still felt a little hungry afterwards, but there wasn't anything we could do. So, we both talked for a little while more, and then turned in early for the night.

I lay in bed, gently touching the bump that had started to recede a little bit. It still hurt when I pressed down, but it was definitely better than it was that morning. I hoped that it would be completely gone in a few days.

Especially by Saturday.

On Saturday, I was-…. I was… What was I doing on Saturday?

The day seemed to be stuck in my head for some reason. I couldn't remember making any plans for Saturday. Why then did I feel like I was forgetting about something happening on Saturday?

It must have just been my head making things up again. I knew people who had hit their head sometimes had hallucinations, or imagined things. Maybe that's where the dizzy spell came from earlier.

Oh well, there was nothing I could do about it. I'd just have to power through it until it went away. It was only a bruise after all, nothing life threatening or serious.

I rolled over in bed, and pulled the sheet up around me. I wasn't feeling great, and I was tired. I was bound to imagine things that weren't there. And so, I closed my eyes and let sleep wash over me.

* * *

AN: Hi Everyone!

Merry Christmas!

If your still reading my story, I just want to say thank you! This is my favourite part of the entire series (hopefully, it should become clearer the further through the story we get...) and once again; reviews and comments are much appreciated! I understand if you still hate me for what I'm doing to Marion and Jack, but I'm really wishing that you will come to understand all in the near future.

Thank you all so much!

generic-fangirl.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

Over the next few days, the small bump on my forehead began to recede, and I began to feel more and more like myself again. I didn't waste time in looking into small insignificant details, my musings would come to nothing. My head had taken a small hit and mind was likely to play more tricks on me.

I eventually just forgot about looking into things. My routine returned to normal, and I had to focus on just keeping my head down and working. I had a family to feed after all.

One little thing did bother me though. In my room, hung over the back of my door; was my ball gown. I couldn't remember getting it out of the drawer and hanging it up. I hadn't been planning on going anywhere that would require such a dress. Yet, there it was. Hung up like I had some purpose for it.

The other thing that bothered me about the ball gown, why hadn't I sold it? My family desperately needed the money; and for some reason, I still owned it.

I didn't really want to sell it. Part of me selfishly wanted to keep it for the rest of my life, as a reminder of the time I danced with nobility. A time when I wasn't just plain old poor Marion Brown, but when I was a lady. I loved that dress, loved wearing it, loved dancing around in it, loved the memories it brought back. Back to when there was enough money and food to be able to go to a ball.

But, we were no longer in that time where I had money and food, so I decided it would have to go. Maybe next Sunday, if I got some time off, I'd go to the market and sell it. There was no point going now, the market was closed and there would be no one around wanting to buy such an item.

The week went idly by, and I found myself repeating the same routine I usually did. Sewing for hours most days, and then if I still had energy left, I'd go and find Isabelle.

Isabelle no longer needed reading lessons. She was now full proficient in reading, always with her head in a book. I was sure that if we both tallied up the number of books we had read; she would far exceed me. She somehow had manged to get a deal with the travelling salesman, where she would swap the books she had read for new books, and then wait until her visited again to return them for even more new ones. How she had gotten the salesman to agree to it was beyond me, but I learned long ago not to underestimate Isabelle when she sets her mind to something. I had since stopped really taking mechanics lessons from her. Our relationship had developed from the both of us teaching each other, to friendship. I wasn't that good at mechanics anyway, and I probably wasn't going to get much better. Although I could tie a pretty good knot, and understood the basics of levers, cogs and pulleys. Isabelle hadn't minded when I asked her if we could stop the lessons and just be friends.

We now spent most of our time together talking about books and other such things. She had become a very close friend of mine, despite being a few years younger than me.

People called us funny, because we were different. We were girls who could read, and think for ourselves. I think some of the men in Milton were a little scared of us, intimidated. We didn't care. As long as we had each other to talk to, no one bothered us. We didn't care about the things whispered about us, or the looks we sometimes got. But, to be honest; Isabelle attracted looks regardless. Boys turned their heads whenever she walked down the street. She was never bothered by them though; she was never interested. She was far too good for any of them anyway.

And so, the week went by, including Saturday. I still could quite figure out why exactly Saturday had been etched into my mind. I spent the entire day trying to remember what exactly I had forgotten about. Maybe it had left my mind when I hit it.

The day came and went, and I was none the wiser, so I guessed it wasn't something very important.

On the Sunday I awoke and went down to work, again. I needed the money, plain and simple.

About halfway through the day, near noon, a knock came at the workroom door. I opened it to find a young boy stood there with a letter. He held it out to me and I took it from him. He ran off before I had time to say thank you. I closed the door tightly and glanced down to look at the letter.

 _Marion Brown._

I recognised the handwriting. It was my brother Alexander's hand.

I tore at the sealed edge and pulled out the note as quickly as I could.

 _Arry._

 _You've got to come home. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have to come home._

 _It's Father._

 _I'm so sorry to have to tell you like this. You know he hasn't been eating well. It's gotten worse. There's been a sickness going around the village, and we think Father's caught it. I don't think anyone else has, but you should come home, as quickly as possible._

 _Please come home Arry, we need you. He needs to see you. We don't know if he's going to make it._

 _We're waiting for you._

 _Alexander._

I dropped the letter before I had even finished reading it properly.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

NO!

I couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

Father.

NO.

I had to get home, right now. I had to leave Milton.

Father couldn't be ill. He just couldn't be. He was my father, he was big and strong and well. He was Joshua Brown. He would not die from this. We would not lose him.

I felt my breathing increase.

We couldn't lose him. We'd already lost our mother, not him too. Not him.

Utter sadness flooded through me.

He was my father. I couldn't lose him. I could remember him reading me bedtime stories when I was small, he carried me around on his shoulders when I got tired, he teased and played with me.

I couldn't be about to lose him.

Why had I left home? Why was I here in Milton and not there?

This wasn't fair. This wasn't right. He might still pull through it, maybe if I just saw him again, he'd be alright. He'd fight, and win.

But he was so thin. He'd been so thin and tired the last time I had seen him. He'd looked years older than he should have done.

I felt the tears stain my cheeks, running down them like a river.

I had to go. I had to leave, right now.

I ran upstairs, forgetting all about the work I was supposed to be doing. My vision was blurred through the tears and I ran into the doorframe at the top of the stairs. A horrible feeling had settled in my gut, one that would not budge.

Home, I had to go home, now.

I made it into my room, and began to pack everything up as quickly as I could. I shoved all my dresses into my worn down old carpet bag, and pushed them down to the bottom.

Sobs were now wracking my chest and I found it hard to breathe. I had to leave, I had to see him.

Father.

I heard the door to my bedroom open slowly, groaning on its hinges, and then someone was crouched behind me, holding me while I wept.

'Marion? What's wrong? What is it?'

I continued to cry. This couldn't be happening, I needed him. He was my father; the only parent I had left in the world. He'd always been there for me, always chased away the nightmares, always loved me.

I held onto Amelia while she embraced me, trying to control my tears and breathing.

'Marion?' She asked.

'He's dying. He's sick.' I managed to get out between the sobs.

'Who is? Who's dying?'

'Father. My brother wrote, and said he's gotten sick.'

Amelia didn't respond, but held onto me tighter. The pain didn't go away; neither did the horrible feeling of dread.

'I have to go home.' I said, once my breathing began to return to normal a little.

Amelia nodded. 'Pack your things. I'll go and find Madam Cartwright.' She said quietly. 'Marion, he's not gone yet, he may still pull through.'

I knew she was trying to cheer me up, but it didn't work. She hadn't seen him, she didn't know how old and thin he looked. How much weaker he had become.

'Will you be alright here? I'm just going to find Madam Cartwright; I'll be back in a few minutes.' Amelia said, releasing me from her embrace a little.

I nodded, unable to speak. She unattached herself from me, and gave me a sad smile, before leaving the room.

I resumed trying to push everything into my carpet bag. My dresses didn't take long to fold up, and I quickly grabbed my ball gown from the back of the door, and carefully placed it inside the bag. I hadn't had chance to go and sell it yet, and I didn't know when I was coming back to Milton, if ever; so I thought I'd better take it with me.

The rest of my belongings didn't take long to pack away. It was only a few pairs of undergarments and some books. I was done within the half hour. My tears were drying and I could begin to think clearly again.

I knelt on the floor and peered under my bed, just to check there was nothing I had left under it. There wasn't anything, and so I turned around to check under the chest of drawers.

A small beam of light reflected off something stuck in the floorboards, and as I turned, that beam of light shone right into my eye. It was only small, just a glint, but it was enough to make me stop and stare at it.

There was a small jewel in the floor.

I stared at it curiously, before bending down to pick it up. It was stuck quite far down, and I had to wriggle it free of the wood.

I pulled it out and found, much to my amazement, that it wasn't just a jewel, but a ring. A small and plain ring, made of bronze, with a small amethyst in the centre. It didn't look expensive, but it looked new and precious.

And there was something about it, something that made me think.

I hadn't seen it before, and yet it looked oddly familiar. I couldn't place it, no matter how hard I thought about it.

How had I lived in this room for nearly two years and not noticed it was there. It was a jewelled ring!

Maybe the person who had lived in the room before me lost it? I thought only Amelia had lived here before I got here, but maybe even before her, there was someone else.

But, this was no seamstress's ring. Although it was plain and simple, there was no way a seamstress would be able to afford this ring, not without saving up for it for a considerable amount of time.

It annoyed me, there was definitely something about it that seemed familiar.

I knew I probably shouldn't but I lifted up my right hand, and slowly slid the ring onto my fourth finger. I wasn't about to tempt fate by placing it on the other hand. It slid on with no difficulty. A perfect fit.

Why would this ring fit my finger, it made no sense! I had certainly never owned it.

I didn't have time to debate it in my mind. I had to get home, get back to my village, get back to Father. I pulled the ring off my finger, and slipped it into the inside of my bag. Maybe if no one claimed it, I could sell it. It might be able to pay for medical treatment for Father.

My room looked sadly bear. Empty. I had lived here for two years, well, almost two years. I'd had one of the greatest adventures of my life so far here, within this building. Living by myself for the first time, choosing my own life, being me. Although the work was fairly boring and monotonous, I had liked it here. The nights Amelia and I had stayed up talking by the fire, the times when Isabelle had sat at that table in the main room; her head over the sheets of paper I had prepared for her, reading out loud. I was going to miss this place. Maybe one day I'd come back, when Father was well and fine again, and I could leave without a guilty conscience.

Footsteps sounded up the rickety old staircase to the apartment. Two sets of footsteps. I waited a moment, making sure everything was in my bag. Then Madam Cartwright appeared at the door to my bedroom. I glanced up to her, her face as still as stone, as it usually was.

'Amelia says you're leaving.' She said.

I nodded. Even though my tears had dried up, my face felt puffy and red, and I still felt terrible.

'I'm sorry to hear about your father.' She said, breaking her ice cold countenance. She came and sat next to me on the bed. 'It's a horrible thing, and massively unfair.' Her arm went around my shoulders, and she rubbed the top of my arms a little.

'I hope he gets better. Here's your wages until the end of the month, it's the least I could do.' She said, offering me a small bag. I'd never known her to be this kind, or understanding.

'And, if you ever want to return to Milton, then my door will always be open. Your position will still be here. Don't worry about rushing back. You only ever get one family.'

I gave her a small smile and whispered. 'Thank you.' I knew I should be more grateful, more thankful for what she was doing, but I couldn't think of anything else but my Father. I just wanted him to be alright, I only wanted this horrible thing to go away.

Madam Cartwright stood up from my bed. 'I wish you well, Marion.' She said, and then left my room. I stood slowly once she had gone, and picked up my bag. Amelia was standing in the main room, near the door.

'Don't go, not just yet.' She said.

I looked at her.

'I have to go. My family needs me.'

'Just one more minute.' Amelia told me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but then I heard more footsteps run up the old staircase. I barely had time to register what was happening before someone barrelled into me, pushing me back a little.

Isabelle's arms wrapped around me, and I held onto her tightly.

'Amelia said you were going!' She cried into my shoulder.

'I have to. My father…' My own voice broke.

'I know, if my father was ill, I'd…' She started, but didn't finish. She didn't need to, I understood.

'I'm going to miss you. You have to come back when he's better.' She told me. 'I'm going to have read so many books by then, I'll need someone to talk to them about.'

'I wouldn't miss it for the world.' I said quietly.

Isabelle let go of me and pulled back so we could see each other.

'Please write to me. I'm really going to miss you.' She said.

I gave her a sad smile.

'I'm going to miss you too. And please remember, don't let anyone tell you to change. You are an incredible, intelligent, amazing young girl, and no matter how many people say that you are funny or weird or strange, stay true to yourself. Do that for me, will you?' I said. I meant it, every word.

She nodded.

'I'm very glad to have met you Marion Brown.'

'And I'm very glad to have met you, Isabelle Greyson.'

She gave me one last quick hug, before stepping to the side and letting me walk down the stairs. I reached the bottom and took one last look around the workroom. It was hard to believe that I might not see it again for a good while at least, if not ever.

I didn't have time to think like that. I opened the old door and stepped outside. Amelia and Isabelle followed me outside, right to the outskirts of Milton, where the path lay that would take me home.

I gave each of them one last hug, and told them I would hopefully see them again soon. I wasn't sure I believed it.

They both tried to smile for me, cheer me up a bit, but it didn't help much.

Even though my mind was distracted with thoughts of Father, there was something else that tugged on my mind.

The two people I had grown closest to in Milton were here, then why did it feel like someone was missing. It had only really been Amelia and Isabelle who I had actually become friends with here. Yet, something felt wrong. I had missed someone. But, I didn't have time to think about it. I just needed to get home first. Just get home, and think about everything else later.

And so, with that, I turned my back on Milton, possibly for the last time and walked off into the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I ran into the depths of the forest. I knew I should have walked, should have slowed down, but all I could think about was Father. I just had to get home. I had to, before it was too late. A horrid feeling of dread wouldn't leave me. It drove me forward, pushing me on. I just had to get there, had to see them all again.

And Father. I had to hope he would be alright.

The forest got thicker and thicker, and I forgot to time how long I had been walking. I looked briefly behind me, to check no one was nearby and I could no longer see Milton. In my emotional state of mind, I threw out the rational part of my brain and cried out.

'Blanche?' I shouted.

'Blanche, I need you. I need to get home right now. Please.'

I could feel a sob rising in my chest again. I fought it down with a deep breath. This was not the time to break down, I could do this.

'It's urgent. Please help. It's Marion.' My voice broke as I said it.

I spied a small bird sat in a branch of a nearby tree. Its head was cocked to one side, as if it was listening. Then it took off without warning, singing as it went.

I released a shuddering breath. It had got the message. It was going to find her. I calmed myself a little and took off back down the path. My pace was slightly slower than a run, but still fast enough that I got out of breath pretty quickly. I ignored the pain in my chest and in my middle, I didn't care. I just had to get home.

Each step I took got me closer and closer to where I needed to be and that was all I could focus on.

I lost track of time. I didn't know how long had passed since I had shouted for Blanche. I just kept walking, always looking forwards never back.

Home, Father, Alright. The words echoed around my head, clanging through my mind.

My breathing was now becoming more and more laboured, and the pain was too bad to ignore. I didn't stop, but slowed down to a walk, trying to get some air back inside me. I gulped down great amounts of air, and eventually had to stop for a minute to rest.

I wanted to cry. I needed to get home, and my own body wasn't fast enough to get me there quickly. It frustrated me to no end.

I was angry, and upset, and I just wanted to go home. I slumped onto a nearby log, and took several more deep breaths.

I could do this, I could get home, and everything would be alright.

I heard a twig snap behind me, and I turned as quickly as I could. A hooded figure wearing a cloak and trousers. I took one look at her, tears in my eyes, and she walked towards me and wrapped her arms around me.

She didn't say anything, while I cried into her shoulder. She slowly rubbed her hands up and down my back, trying to sooth me.

I just cried and cried, trying to get the horrid feeling that had been building up inside me to recede a bit.

Blanche wouldn't let go, and it was just what I needed right then. She held onto me tightly, simply being there for me. I just needed my friend.

I eventually began to calm down a bit, and she loosened my grip on me.

'What happened?' She asked me, looking me directly in the eye.

'I got a letter.' I managed to utter. 'My Father is sick. Really sick. I've got to get home, now.'

Blanche only nodded and gestured with her hand, as if to say 'Shall we go then?'

We both set off down the path, focusing on getting back to Rault as quickly as we could.

'I'm so sorry Marion.' Blanche said after we'd walked for a bit. 'I know how horrible it is to be faced with losing a parent.'

'I'm not going to lose him!' I snapped at her.

She visibly recoiled from me.

'I'm sorry, I didn't- I just-' I said, feeling guilty.

'No, no need to apologise. You're right, he will be fine.' She told me, with a comforting tone of voice.

I simply nodded, looking straight ahead of me.

'I can't lose him, I just can't.' I whispered, more so to myself than to Blanche.

She looked sideways to me.

'I know. I know exactly what you're going through.' She said.

Sometime I forgot how horrid Blanche's situation was. Not only did her Father die, but she was blamed for it, and had to leave everything she knew behind, everyone she loved, just for a slim shot at survival. I knew if I was in her situation, I don't know if I would have found the courage to do what she did.

I just nodded at her.

'Thank you for coming to find me.' I said, my voice hoarse. 'I don't know if I would have made it all the way back home by tomorrow if you hadn't shown.'

She smiled at me a little.

'I'm sure you would have. You're one of the strongest people I know.' She replied.

I wanted to smile at that, but I couldn't. My mind was still a thousand miles away, thinking about Father.

We walked in companionable silence for about an hour until we got bored, we fell into a normal conversation, not really talking about anything in particular. We talked well into the afternoon, the sun was beginning to go down in the sky. I was so grateful she was there with me. Even though we didn't say much, it just meant so much to me that she was there, she had my back, she would come through for me when I needed it.

Suddenly, Blanche stopped walking.

I continued about another three steps before I noticed.

I turned around to face her, confused as to why she had halted.

'Blanche? What's the-'

'SHHHH!' She whispered and gestured for me to stop talking.

I shut up immediately.

Her face was drained of colour, paler than it usually was. Her lips had gone bloodless. Her eyes were wide with shock as they flicked from tree to tree.

That's when I noticed the birdsong. It was loud, louder than it normally was. There were several birds, all singing at the same time, and it almost sounded like they were shouting something.

Shouting something to Blanche.

'Where?' She cried up to them.

They all responded, singing as one. I'd never heard birds sing like that, not ever.

Blanche took a visible step back, and glanced down to me.

'We need to go now.' She said quietly.

I panicked. Something bad was happening. Very bad, by the way Blanche had responded.

She turned quickly to her left and ran off into the trees, right off the path.

I was scared, what was going on. But I knew better than to question Blanche right then, and took off after her.

Fear raged through my body, causing my legs to move fast. Blanche darted out ahead of me, and I kept my eyes on her brown cloak to make sure I didn't lose her. The birdsong followed us as we ran deeper and deeper into the forest.

What was happening?

'Blanche.' I panted after her.

'Hurry!' She whispered back.

I didn't dare speak after that. If Blanche was keeping quiet, then it was clearly very important that I keep my mouth shut.

What if we were being chased?

The thought flooded through my head. There could only be one person Blanche was that scared of. This Evil Woman who had murdered her Father. The one who was still after Blanche.

Had she found us?

Were there men in the forest, close by who were hunting us down?

Blanche darted off to the right, and I followed; trying to keep as close by as I could. My breaths were now ragged and uneven, and there was a sharp pain in my middle, but I ignored it the best I could. I just had to keep going. Follow Blanche wherever she was leading me. We couldn't be caught. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if we were caught.

Blanche was a criminal to them. It might not be true, but to them she was a criminal. And if I was caught with her, I'd be conspiring with one. I could be arrested, locked in a dungeon, forced to endure punishment.

I focused on my ragged breathing. Keep going, keep running.

The birdsong seemed to get louder and louder. The panic in my veins grew, growing larger and larger, consuming me. I kept running. Faster and faster and faster.

Blanche swerved to the right again, and jumped over a root with incredible ease. I followed, but as I leapt, my foot caught on something, and I fell, down and down and down. I wanted to cry out, but I was too scared. I flung out my arms, my bag falling in front of me. My hands hit the ground a moment before the rest of me did, and pain laced up my arm from the impact.

Even with my arms out in front of me, my chest still hit the floor with a large thump, knocking the air right out of me, and causing pain to explode across it.

Blanche didn't see. She didn't stop running.

I coughed out a breathless groan from the pain; I didn't have enough air in my lungs to cry out properly.

It hurt, it really hurt. And I could see Blanche getting further and further away from me with every step.

I shut my eyes, focusing on trying to move, trying to ignore the pain that was all over me. Breathe, just breathe.

But it hurt, and it was not easy to ignore. I lay there on the floor frozen, unable to move. Everything hurt.

Before I knew it, a firm pair of hands wrapped themselves under my arms and pulled me up.

I flung open my eyes, and saw Blanche hauling me away.

'Come on, we've got to hide. Now.' She whispered forcefully.

I scrambled to my feet, Blanche pulling me upright, and together we ran. I barely had time to hoist my bag back over my shoulder. We ran, even though I was completely out of breath and hurt all over. We had to, we had no choice. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if we were caught.

All of a sudden, Blanche took a sharp left, down a hill and pulled me to a stop under a tree. The roots were sticking out above us and if we pressed ourselves against the dirt wall, we shouldn't be seen.

I was breathing heavily, still trying to get some air into my lungs. Blanche held her hand over my mouth to try and muffle the sounds a little bit. I breathed in through my nose and out again, just trying to banish the thoughts of what might happen. Blanche's face still hadn't regained its colour, even after all that running. She was scared too, terrified; I could tell.

We stood, back pressed against the wet earth and listened.

I heard nothing but birdsong. I guessed Blanche knew exactly what they were saying, but either didn't want to tell me, or was too scared about what might happen if she spoke aloud.

The fear was still consuming me. I still had no idea what was happening, what the birds had told Blanche. I didn't know who was after us, if anyone.

I heard nothing, and I finally began to get some air inside me. But the terror didn't leave as easily.

Silence.

A bird sang, but then more silence.

Blanche turned around, taking a step back from the earth wall. She slowly lifted her eyes to see what was above us.

I was still frozen to the spot. I just wanted to get home, get away from this forest. But I was so scared, so frightened.

A different bird sang out, and Blanche moved quickly, pressing herself against the earth wall next to me again. Her breathing had almost stopped, and I could tell she was trying to make it as quiet as possible.

I too started breathing almost silently.

And that is when I heard it.

Footsteps.

Fairly close by, just on the path we were just running down.

I froze.

My body wouldn't move. I was frozen with terror.

Soft footsteps padded nearby to where we were hidden, slowly following our path; as if they had all the time in the world to hunt us.

I hated this, I was so scared. My stomach turned inside out and upside down, and I tried to just focus on my breathing, and making no noise.

The footsteps stopped, right over where we were stood.

A long shadow lay over the edge of the hill, just in front of us. They seemed to be wearing a sword and a helmet from the look of the shadow.

Terror, pure and utter terror filled me.

A soldier, or a guard; that's what was after us. If we were caught, who knows what they might do to us.

He remained standing just above where we were for about half a minute. It was the longest half a minute of my life. It could have been twenty years, and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Then, he turned away and walked back down the path.

Both Blanche and I breathed a long sigh of relief as he walked away. We waited there for about another five minutes, just to make sure he was gone for good. Then, Blanche stepped forward again and looked around.

She nodded to me, as if to say the coast was clear, and I could finally move again. My hands were shaking as I took a step towards her, and away from our safe little hiding spot.

'We've got to go, now.' She whispered. 'I know somewhere we can hide.'

I only nodded, not trusting myself enough to speak.

Blanche didn't say another word, but took off down into the forest again. She wasn't running, but it certainly wasn't walking either. We moved fast, keeping as quiet as possible.

It was so quiet I could swear that the person hunting us could hear my heart beat, loud and clear.

I was not quite sure how much time passed exactly, only that I was sure that we lost the person who was following us. Blanche occasionally whispered something to the birds, and seemed to visibly relax with the more things they said. I guessed the person was getting further and further away from us.

Eventually, we came to a small clearing. I had never seen this place before, deep in the heart of the forest, and a long way from the main path,

A small but quaint cottage sat in the centre of the clearing. Its thatched roof blended in a little with the fallen leaves and twigs around it. Made of wood and plaster, it looked homely and well lived in. There was a long pillar of smoke rising from the stone chimney, curling and dancing as it disappeared into the air. At least it meant someone was in.

Blanche took no time to look at the cottage, but marched up to the door quickly. She lifted her fist and banged forcefully on the door.

I stood just behind her, hoping that she knew what she was doing; and that whoever lived here was friendly.

We waited in silence for a few seconds, before we heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and the sound of the handle being lifted. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

The door swung open to reveal a young woman. A very peculiar young woman. She had a pretty rounded face, and large dark blue oval eyes, so dark they almost looked purple.

But her hair.

Her hair was pale, incredibly so. It was almost white, with little strands of gold shining through when it caught the light. I'd never seen such a hair colour in my life. Such a pale blonde.

'We need to hide.' Blanche said to the woman. 'I know I said I wouldn't trouble you again, but its desperate.'

The young woman only nodded a little, and stepped to the side, allowing us to enter.

And so, both Blanche and I walked in, into the stranger's cottage.

I looked around the cottage I found myself in. It was quite dark, mainly due to the small windows. In fact, some of the windows were boarded up, very odd for a house that was lived in. There was one main room, that had a stone fireplace built into the left hand wall of the cottage, and had four chairs situated around the it. There was also a small table, also with four chairs. From this, I guessed there was four people living here; the young woman who had just let us in, and three others.

'Thank you.' Blanche said to the young woman.

She didn't reply, but tilted her head to look at me, as if she was confused.

'This is my friend Marion.' Blanche told her.

'Pleased to meet you.' I said, offering my hand. She looked even more confused at that. She made no move to shake my hand, but rather just stared.

'Rose.' She said softly.

I lowered my hand, a little perplexed.

'You can hide where you did before.' She told neither of us in particular. Her voice had a strange sort of sing song lilt to it, lovely and yet, otherworldly. I couldn't quite work out exactly what it was like.

Blanche nodded, and moved to the corner of the room where a cupboard lay. She opened it, and to my great astonishment, I found that it led to a staircase downwards. A dark staircase down. I never would have thought it, it looked just like every other

cupboard here. Blanche didn't hesitate, and slipped inside the cupboard and walked down.

I turned to the girl.

'Thank you.' I said. She didn't respond again.

I turned back around and followed Blanche down the stairs, into the black.

* * *

AN- Hello everyone.

Firstly, thank you for those of you still reading my story. It really does mean the world to me. Just like to tell you that the companion piece to this story is currently online (AHC.) It's a series of one shots to hopefully try and explain some of the other characters more. And i think in particular, you all might be very interested in the subject of the next one (it tells a backstory I think some of you have been waiting for...)

Thank you to my new Beta lightningeagle1313! I am appalling at spelling, so thank you for setting me straight!

And finally, as ever, please review or comment. It really is the best feeling to know someone is enjoying the story!

Generic-fangirl.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four.**

I couldn't see anything. It was completely pitch black. I couldn't even see the next step. I felt for it gingerly in the dark, hoping I wouldn't fall down. I took a few steps down, before I hit what I thought was a wall. I felt along it with my hands, and discovered that the staircase turned, like a spiral, and I had reached the corner of it. Slowly, I felt my way along it the wall, and found the next stair.

'Blanche?' I whispered. 'Where are you?'

'Right here, I'm trying to find this infernal candle!' She said back to me.

I took a few more steps down the staircase, and reached what I thought was the bottom. I waited a few more moments before I heard the striking of a match, and light erupted from Blanche's hand. I blinked at it. She had a small candle in her hand, and was lighting it with the match. I looked around where we were. It was a small room, no windows or doors, save the cupboard door we had just come through. There were a few old boxes and trunks down here, covered in dust and rotting. Other bits and pieces lay on the floor; scraps of material, pieces of wood, that sort of thing. Blanche placed down the candle in a candle holder built into the side of the wall, and began to take her cloak off. I was still gazing around me, trying to work out what exactly had just happened.

We had just been chased by a guard or a soldier through the forest, had almost been caught, then ran away to this cottage; where a strange girl who I had never met before had told us we could hide in the basement. I just couldn't seem to get my head around it.

If it had been any other day, I would have looked upon these events as a grand adventure, something exciting and scary. But not today. Not when all I wanted to do was simply get home. I just had to get home and make sure my Father was alright. He was sick, I had to be there. I didn't know what I could do, but I just had to be there.

I was tired, and scared and upset, and I just wanted to be at home. I wanted Alexander to give me a hug. I wanted Daniel to try and cheer me up. I wanted Richard to hold onto me like he always did. I wanted Clara to make me feel better with her sisterly love. I wanted Tom, Robbie and Gwen to distract me with their playing and shouting and screaming.

And I just wanted Father to be alright. I wanted him to be strong and healthy again. I wanted him to be happy, as happy as he had been when Mother was alive.

I slumped against the wall of the basement, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. I wanted to go home. I wanted to feel loved and safe again. Instead, I was who-knows-where, with Blanche and a stranger; on the run from someone who Blanche would not tell me the identity of.

Home. I just wanted home.

'Why are we here?' I asked Blanche in a hoarse voice.

She turned to face me.

'We need to hide; Rose will hide us.' She replied.

'I just want to go home.' I told her. 'Instead, I'm here.'

'I know,' She said. 'And I'm sorry for dragging you into this. But we're over halfway back to Rault, even if we stay off the path, it's only a few more hours walking tomorrow. I'll get you home tomorrow, I promise.'

I wanted to believe her. I really did.

'But what if that man comes after us again.'

She shrugged.

'Then we run.' She said, very matter of factly.

'You haven't done anything wrong.' She continued. 'So they shouldn't have a reason to catch you. But if they see you with me…'

'They'll get me too.' I finished.

She only nodded.

'We stay here tonight, and leave at first light. They will have gone home hopefully by then, and won't be back in the forest until mid-morning. If we move fast, we should be able to get back to Rault before they can start to track us again.'

It was a good plan, and a sensible one. But that didn't stop the horrid feeling of worry and sadness that had taken root in my stomach. I wanted to get home, and every minute we spent here, was a minute we weren't getting closer and closer to home.

A loud noise sounded from above us. We both whirled our heads round to look at the door. It sounded like conversation, a loud one.

Blanche signalled for me to hide behind one of the wooded trunks on the floor, and Blanche moved herself so she was hidden behind a box.

I tried my hardest to keep my breathing quite, not making a sound. The fear I had felt just a few minutes ago came flooding back to me, and I tried to ignore it the best I could.

Suddenly the door to the basement opened, and light poured in. I froze in terror.

Then, a shadow passed over the doorway as someone made their way down the staircase.

'You can both come out.' Came the sing song voice of Rose.

I saw Blanche peer over the top of the box, and then stand up. I followed her, slowly pulling myself upright. Rose was stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at us. Then, as quickly as she had arrived, she turned around and left, leaving the door open for us.

I looked to Blanche, no clue what to do.

She just shrugged again, and moved towards the door. I followed her, still not quite sure exactly what we were doing.

Both of us emerged from the basement, to the main room, and we found we were not alone. Rose was standing there, but so were three other women. All of them were older, they looked around 50 or 60. All three of them wore plain simple clothes, various shades of grey and brown.

But their eyes.

There must just have been something about this house and unusual eyes, but all three women had the same eyes, a bright golden colour.

They were just so peculiar. I'd never seen gold eyes before, never.

Their hair was greying and kept in loose buns, covering their ears. I could never wear my hair like that, it would get in the way far too much. I always found myself tucking locks of my hair behind me ears, because it irritated me when it was in that form. How it didn't annoy them was beyond me.

All three of them were staring at us, and they didn't look best pleased.

'Why are you here again?' The one on the left asked Blanche.

'I'm sorry. I know I said I wouldn't bother you again-'

'Yes, you did.' The one on the right said, very matter of factly. 'You said you'd leave us alone, for good.'

'We're desperate. She sent them after me again, and we almost got caught. We just need to hide for one night, only one.' Blanche pleaded.

'That's what you asked us the first time.' The one in the middle almost snarled.

'I know, and I'm sorry.' Blanche tried to reason with them. 'Don't do it for me, do it for her.'

Blanche indicated to me, and all three of their gazes fell on me.

'She hasn't done anything wrong, she's my friend, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she needs to get home. Just one night. We'll leave at first light, and you never need see us.' Blanche said.

I stared back at them, silently begging them to just let us stay. The sun was almost down now, so there was no chance we'd reach Rault today. Tomorrow, maybe, but I didn't know this part of the forest at all, and I had lost track of how exactly to get back onto the path.

The three women assessed me with their eyes, taking in every detail.

'Please.' I managed to stutter out. 'My father is sick, very sick. I just want to get home safely.'

The women continued to stare.

'She's telling the truth.' Rose said, to no one in particular.

I stopped, and took in what she just said. The young woman knew nothing about me, nothing at all, and yet for some reason could say that with absolute certainty. It was very odd.

'Yes, she is.' Said the woman on the left.

I still had no clue why they knew this, or what they meant, but if it meant they let us stay, I was willing to go along with it.

'Please.' I said again.

The woman on the right inclined her head, and all three of them walked out of the room, through the front door, and it slammed shut behind them. I did not think I saw any of them reach for the door, it just closed.

Maybe I was imagining things. I'd had a difficult day, and now my mind was playing tricks on me. One of them must have reached for the door.

'Where did they go?' I asked Blanche quietly.

'Off to decide whether to let you stay or not.' Rose replied, even though the question hadn't been posed to her.

'Oh.' Was all I said.

'Things have changed.' Rose said. 'Since you were last here.'

I guessed she was talking to Blanche and not me, as I had never been to this cottage before.

'How so, and why?' Blanche asked.

'They're getting stricter, and more paranoid. My eighteenth birthday is next week, and I think they are afraid of something once I become of age.' Rose told us.

There was something about this that sound oddly familiar. Something I wasn't quite sure of.

'Why should your eighteenth be of such importance?' I asked.

'I don't know.' She said, to neither of us in particular, again. 'But I'm not allowed to leave the house on my birthday. They have told me that many, many times.'

That seemed even stranger. Who wasn't allowed to leave the house, especially on their birthday?

There was something, something right at the back of my mind, trying to push forwards. Something that sounded familiar, as if I'd known about this before.

Three strange women, and an even stranger girl. A girl whose eighteenth birthday was significantly important, for some reason.

I began to think deeper and deeper, until suddenly, my vision began to cloud over, and my head started spinning. Blackness danced around my sight, and I felt weak.

'Marion?' I heard Blanche call out. My head was still spinning, faster and faster and faster.

I felt an arm grasp around my shoulders, and guide me into a nearby chair.

'Breathe, just breathe.' I heard her say. I concentrated on that. In and out; breathe in, and breathe out.

The dizziness began to abate slightly, and the blackness disappeared. I'd been getting these dizzy spells a lot recently. Maybe something worse had happened when I had hit my head on the floor.

Breathe in, and out. Eventually, I began to feel normal again.

I looked up, and found Blanche in front of me, holding my arms, with a look of genuine concern on her face.

'Better?' She asked.

I nodded slightly.

At that moment, the front door swung open, and the three older women appeared at the doorway. They all walked into the room, single file, and stood in front of us.

'We will let you stay one night. Only one.' The one in the middle said.

'And, you will get this one to not say anything about it, anything at all. Just like you.'

I was confused, and still not thinking clearly.

'You,' The one on the left spoke directly to me. 'You, will not speak a word of this to anyone. We will remain a secret. You will never tell another living soul that you saw us here in the forest, do you understand me?' The one on the left said.

I was very confused as to why they had to remain such a secret. Who didn't want people to know about them that desperately?

But, I just wanted to get home, wanted to make sure Father was alright.

And so, instead of questioning them, and fighting back, I simply nodded my head, and agreed to keep my mouth shut.

'We will be watching; you cannot tell anyone we are here. Anyone at all.'

I nodded again, I understood, but did not grasp why it was such an important thing. Maybe they were also criminals, like Blanche, who needed to stay hidden.

'She won't say anything.' Blanche said, 'I trusted her with my own secret, and she has never told anyone else.' She gave me a small smile.

'Good.' The one on the right said. 'Now, please, get back down there and hide. We will bring you some food in a little while. You are not to leave that basement until first light, and then we want you gone.'

'How will we know it's first light?' I asked quietly. 'There are no windows down there.'

The three women glanced to each other quickly, as if not quite sure how to answer the question.

'You will know.' The one on the left said, rather cryptically.

That sounded odd. A little too odd.

Blanche met my eyes, and gave me a 'Don't question it' look, and tugged on my arm. I stood from the chair.

'Thank you very much.' I said.

'We wish your father, and your siblings, the best.' The middle one said.

Wait, what? Did I mention my siblings? I wasn't sure that I had. How did they know? Before I could ask them, Blanche tugged harder on my arm, and we walked back to the hidden basement, and descended the dark stairs again, with the cupboard door slamming behind us with a loud bang.

Blanche quickly lit the candle again, so we could see what we were doing. She lifted up one of the trunk's lid, and peered inside it, before then shutting it quickly.

'We need to find blankets, or something similar.' She told me.

'I've got a blanket.' I said quietly, still stewing over the conversation we'd just had with those strange women.

'We're in a basement. It's not going to get any warmer, trust me.'

It was rather cold down there. My hands were already beginning to go numb. And so, I began to open boxes, and rummage through them. There were scraps of materials, moth eaten and filthy, no use to us at all. I dug deeper into the trunk, moving scraps out of the way. Blanche was half way inside a trunk on the far side of the room. Only her legs were visible.

I looked further and further, but there were only pieces of material. My hands were freezing cold now, and covered in dirt and mud, at least I thought it was mud. I didn't really want to know exactly what it was.

My hand hit something hard, something that felt a little like wood. It hurt. I could feel a small bruise forming on the back of my hand. My curiosity was peaked, and I pushed aside the fabrics, to find a small wooden box, about as wide as my shoulders. There was a metal clasp on the front, a very intricate metal clasp. It was gold in colour, and looked very expensive. A little too expensive. People who were living in a small cottage like this should not be able to afford that box.

I knew I should have left it alone. It was common curtesy that guests don't go looking through all the possessions of their hosts. But it was me, and I couldn't let it lie.

My cold hands grasped the clasp on the box, and a clicked it open. The lid lifted slightly, it was heavier than I had thought.

Inside, the box was lined with dark purple velvet, padded throughout. I lifted it a little higher, and saw a small image embroidered into the velvet. A small crest. It showed a shield with a sun and a flower; a rose.

I'd seen it before.

Everyone had seen it before.

The royal crest. The crest of the house of Valorian.

I lifted the lid higher and higher, until I could see exactly what was inside. Even in the dark of the basement, with only one candle; I could see what was inside.

A jewelled crown.

Well, more like a coronet. It was smaller than anyone's head.

It was beautiful. A large sapphire lay in the centre, and variously sized red and purple jewels ran along the metal. It was stunning, so intricate that there was no mistaking what it actually was.

A royal crown. It was even in the royal colours of red and purple.

What were the strange women upstairs doing with a royal crown? Maybe they had stolen it?

But then, why were they living in this tiny cottage in the middle of the forest, and not in a large house in a town, enjoying all the luxuries of having money. It made no sense.

 _'And so, the lost princess still lives, somewhere, unaware of her heritage, and the curse place upon her, while her parents rule the kingdom waiting for her to return. The end.'_

The words echoed through my head. Where had I heard those words before. My mind began to start spinning.

' _The other three faeries told the king and queen that they would hide the child, and raise it as their own, to prevent the evil faerie ever finding her.'_

Three faeries, three strange women. Which would make Rose….

My head was spinning far too fast now. Dizziness clouded my vision. I focused on my breathing, and I moved my hand to grasp my head, hoping to stop the spinning. As I moved my hand, the lid of the box clicked shut, hiding the coronet again. I didn't care, I just wanted the dizziness to go away.

I pushed myself out of the trunk and slumped onto the ground, my back resting again the hard wood of the trunk. Breathe, just breathe.

Blanche was by my side instantly, holding the tops of my arms, telling me to just breathe.

In, and out. Breathe in, and breathe out.

Eventually, the blackness abated, and the spinning began to slow.

'Marion?' Blanche asked. I could just about work out what she was saying now.

I swallowed. What had brought that on? Maybe I had spent too long leaning over the edge of the trunk.

'Are you alright?' Blanche asked.

I nodded slowly.

'I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what happened.' I told her.

'You've been having a lot of dizzy spells recently. Is something the matter?' She asked. She sounded genuinely concerned.

'I don't think so. Maybe it's just lack of food.' I said. Yes, that's exactly what it must have been. I was just light headed because I was hungry.

Blanche looked at me concerned.

'Are you sure you're going to be alright?'

I nodded, feeling a lot better. I could see everything again, and the spinning had completely stopped.

'Good. Now, I'm going to see about getting some food.' Blanche said, giving me a quick pat on my shoulder, and then disappearing up the stairs, leaving me in the basement all by myself.

I stood slowly, scared it was going to make me dizzy again. The trunk behind me was still open. I hadn't found anything of interest in there, anything important. And so, I placed my hands on either side of the lid, and pushed it shut with a loud click.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five.**

Blanche returned a little while later, with two bowls of hot stew in her hands. I could have cried when I saw it. My mouth watered, and the glorious smell hit me all at once, vegetables. I almost tackled Blanche to get to the food quickly, and raised the bowl to my lips and began to swallow great amounts of it. It tasted so good. I didn't know what flavor it was, and I didn't care. It was tasty hot food.

I finished far before Blanche did. She at least had the decency to take her time, and not look like a pig. But I didn't care. We'd already gone through enough together, that I didn't think my eating habits would put her off.

She laughed a little at me, at my lack of good manners. But she didn't say anything, didn't condemn me.

Soon, my belly was full, and I felt better than I had done in a very long time. I still felt awful about my father, and what my family was going through, but I no longer had a painful ache in my stomach from hunger.

I sat down with my back to the basement wall. My bag lay on my right hand side, and Blanche sat down next to me on my left.

'Better?' She asked.

'Much.' I replied.

We sat in silence for a while, in the dark basement.

'I'm sorry.' Blanche said after a while. 'I didn't want to drag you into this, into my life.'

I turned to look at her.

'I've been in your life for almost two years now.' I said.

'Yes, but not in this part of my life. This is the part no one ever sees, or wants to see. The running, the hiding, the fear.' Blanche admitted.

'It's fine. I knew about this.'

'But you've never seen it. You might think it's like some big adventure, but-'

'I don't think it is.' I interrupted. 'It's serious, and it's your life. I knew what I was doing when I became your friend, so you don't need to apologise. You saved me today.'

'You wouldn't have needed saving if I hadn't shown up.' She said quietly.

I stopped. She blamed herself for this, not the evil woman who had sent the guards.

'Blanche, please stop. It's not your fault, none of it is your fault. You found us somewhere to hide, you stopped us from getting caught.'

'You could be almost home right now.'

I froze. Home. Father. I could have been home, instead of here in the cold dirty basement, on the run.

I swallowed slowly, trying to hide the lump that had formed in my throat.

'I don't care. It's not your fault. It really isn't.' I told her.

I truly meant it. There was no point in blaming her for it. She had done the best she could have done; I couldn't have asked for anything more.

'You're my friend, Blanche. You saved me from them. Don't ever think it is your fault.' I said, more forcefully.

Blanche looked at the floor, but nodded slowly. I knew she still felt guilty, but slightly less guilty than she had done.

Not taking her eyes of the floor, she opened her mouth.

'Bianca.' She said quietly.

I snapped my head to look at her.

'Pardon?'

'Bianca. My real name is Bianca.'

I stilled. Her name wasn't even Blanche.

'Lady Bianca Knox. My Father was Duke Thomas Knox.'

Her father was a Duke? Blanche, I mean Bianca, had never mentioned a brother or any sort, only a younger sister. That would make her the heir.

She was heir to a dukedom.

That would make her-

A duchess.

Blan- Bianca was a Duchess. Or at least should be.

I knew she was a highborn, but I never thought she would be that highborn. There were only a handful of Dukedoms in the land, enough to count on two hands.

'Do you want me to curtsey?' I joked.

Bianca chuckled a bit.

'No, if you do, I'm going to give you a smack on the head to knock some sense into you.'

'Of course, my lady.' I teased.

She just smiled.

'Would you like me to call you Bianca then?' I asked, on a more serious note.

She shrugged.

'Very few people know me as Blanche, but all of her court know me as Bianca. It's quite nice to have someone that sees me as different, sees me as only Blanche. I've gotten used to it.'

'That's not an answer.' I told her.

'Blanche is fine. Unique to just us two. I quite like it.' She said, 'But I wanted to tell you my real name. No more secrets.'

I smiled back to her. Blanche's brow furrowed, and then she looked directly at me.

'Your name.' She said quietly.

'What about my name?' I asked.

'I remember something, I said something about your name last time we met.' Her eyes went a little glassy.

Then her head started swaying a little.

'Blanche?' I cried. She blinked a little and then straightened up again.

'Sorry, just a little dizzy spell.' She said. Her gaze fell back to the floor, clearly she had forgotten about what she was talking about.

I thought it was a little strange, but ignored it. It was probably nothing.

'Come on.' I said. 'We've got to be up early tomorrow. We should probably try and get some rest.

Blanche nodded, and we both stood up, and began to make beds out of whatever we could find. I used as many clean (ish) scraps of fabric as I could find to make the floor slightly less hard. I lay down on the left hand side of the room, and Blanche made her own bed on the right. She blew the candle out, and the room fell into darkness.

Then, I lay down, and drew my blanket around me, trying to banish the cold. I lay there for a good while, just thinking.

Eventually, tiredness fell, and sleep beckoned me away to the land of dreams.

 _'All the best, to both of you. Goodbye Miss Marion Brown, you might not have the same name next time I see you.'_

 _Blanche had said that to me._

 _'No, I daresay I won't.' I had replied._

 _'Congratulations in advance then.' She said, and then turned around and disappeared back into the leafy green cover of the forest._

 _The scene danced before me. The last time we had seen each other._

 _Why was Blanche congratulating me? And why was I changing my name?_

 _A flash of orange whirled across my vision._

 _Orange? What was going on?_

 _The scene before me faded, and another took its place._

 _'_ _Once upon a time, there was a queen.'_

 _Someone was speaking. The voice was deep, but soft. A man's._

 _'And, um... she wanted a child with all her heart. However, no child appeared, and the kingdom was without an heir. Then, one day a faerie appeared to the queen and offered to help her, as she said the child would be a great ruler and help bring justice to the world.'_

 _The voice sounded familiar. As did the story. I'd heard it somewhere before._

 _'And so, the queen conceived, and a beautiful baby girl was born, a princess. At the celebration feast for the new princess, all of the ruling faeries were invited. All except one. This one had a reputation for cruelty and evil, and so was left off the guest list.'_

 _Where had I heard this? Who told me this?_

 _Another flash of orange. Or maybe it was red. It moved too quickly for me to take a proper note of it._

 _That voice. That voice sounded familiar and safe, like I had heard it a million times before. I trusted that voice, loved that voice._

 _Who was speaking?_

 _'The wicked faerie found out about the celebration and appeared to give the child her own gift, the promise that when she turned eighteen, she would prick her finger on a spindle and die.'_

 _'The king and queen were horrified, and begged the faerie to remove the curse, but she did not and vanished, never to be seen again.'_

 _Who was it? I was getting more and more frustrated. I knew this person; I knew them well._

 _Then why couldn't I remember whose voice it was?_

 _Who was speaking?_

 _'_ _However, four of the ruling faeries had not presented their gifts yet.'_

 _The first faerie gave her a reprieve from the curse, so that when she pricked her finger, she would fall into a deep sleep instead of death, and she would only be awoken by true love's kiss. The other three faeries told the king and queen that they would hide the child, and raise it as their own, to prevent the evil faerie ever finding her. Although it broke the king and queen's hearts to do it, they agreed.'_

 _'And so, the lost princess still lives, somewhere, unaware of her heritage, and the curse place upon her, while her parents rule the kingdom waiting for her to return. The end.'_

 _Lost princess. A familiar voice. An unfinished story. Why did it feel like I knew all of this before?_

 _The image of a coronet appeared before me, with jewels in the royal colours of purple and red. I'd seen it earlier, and then forgotten about it. What was going on? Why was I forgetting things?_

 _'_ _All memory of you will be erased from the outside world. No one will remember who you are, or that you are here.'_

 _I'd heard that before too. Why did this all seem too familiar. What was going on?_

 _I had known something; something I had then forgotten. I thought harder and harder, the thoughts swirling around my head. What was I missing?_

 _The thoughts began to slip away again; back into the dark where they had come from. I tried to hold on to them, I knew I was on the verge of something. But they faded gradually before my very eyes, and I was powerless to stop it. The light from my thoughts ebbed away, leaving me once again surrounded by the darkness of sleep._

I awoke in the dark cold basement. It took me a minute to fully remember where I was, and why I was here.

What was that dream? It was so strange and unusual, and I couldn't remember most of it. I just remembered feeling odd, and frustrated for some reason.

I blinked a few times, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the blackness. My throat felt oddly dry, and I desperately needed something to drink.

I pushed the blanket off me, and dragged myself up to a standing position. Then, as quietly as I could, I began to tiptoe past all the boxes, making sure I didn't bump into any of them, and made for the stairs. My foot accidentally kicked the bottom stair, making a soft thudding sound. I heard Blanche groan in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. And so, I lift my feet carefully, and began to climb the staircase.

I pushed open the cupboard door, and crawled out of it into the main room. I spied a small water pitcher on the table, with several wooden cups next to it. I eagerly made for them, pouring the water into the first cup, and drinking from it quickly.

'Hello.'

I whirled around, almost dropping the cup of water from my surprise.

At the bottom of the main staircase, stood Rose, in her nightgown, looking curiously at me.

'You scared me.' I said quietly.

'My apologies.' Rose replied in her usual soft tone. She walked up to me and poured herself a cup of water.

'Trouble sleeping?' I asked her. I still hadn't really put my finger on exactly what was so strange about her. She was just very odd.

'Not really.' She said. She didn't say anything else.

After about half a minute of silence, I tried again.

'So, those three women.' I began. 'Is one of them your mother?'

Rose shook her head gently.

'They are my aunts. Flora, Sybil and Mary. Related to my mother's family somehow, I'm not quite sure.'

'They aren't your mother's sisters?' I asked.

'No. But they knew her. Before.'

'What happened?' I inquired.

'I don't know. Something terrible. They don't speak of it. Only that it happened when I was a baby, and they've raised me here ever since.' Rose confessed.

'Strange place to raise a young girl.' I muttered.

'How so?' She asked, actually looking at me with those deep blue eyes.

'It's just unusual, a cottage in the heart of the forest.' I told her.

'Is it?' She seemed genuinely confused.

'Well, most people live in a village or town. Somewhere near other people.' I said.

She thought about this for a minute.

'What else do most people do?'

I was shocked, genuinely shocked. How did she not know about this?

'What do you want to know?' I asked.

'Everything. I've never seen further than the forest. They won't let me go any further. But I know people are out there. People I've never met. I want to know about them.'

She'd been almost locked up here, her entire life. Maybe that is why she was so strange, she just didn't know how to act or behave with anyone that wasn't her aunts.

'Where should I start.' I thought aloud, giving Rose a small smile.

I told her about everything. I told her about my village of Rault, about my seven siblings and Father. I told her about Ella and the ball, and her story of romance.

Well, it wasn't like I had a story of romance to tell. I'd never been anywhere near a boy, let alone one who would actually like me enough to want to court me.

I told her about living in Milton. About an amazing inventor girl and a talkative seamstress. I told her about a smug young lord who had lovely green eyes.

I told her about the traditions we had, Mayday dancing, Autumn celebrations, Yule time and Springbloom. I told her about the differences between highborns and royalty, and lowborns like myself.

She listened to it all, taking in every word. She didn't say much, only asking the occasional question when something didn't make sense to her. I must have talked for at least an hour, and by the time I was drawing to a close, we were both yawning and the jug of water was finished.

'I need to go. I've got to rest before my walk tomorrow.' I said to her.

She just nodded and gave me a small smile.

'Thank you.' She said in her soft tone again, and then just turned around and walked back up the stairs.

I would have thought it strange, but I was too tired to really notice. And so, I descended the hidden staircase to the basement, and crawled back under my blanket and fell back asleep.

* * *

AN- Review?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six.**

I snapped out of my sleep when someone started shaking my shoulder, rather urgently.

'Marion, Marion, MARION!' I heard a voice shout.

Bleary eyed, I blinked at the surrounding scene.

Blanche was crouched over me, shaking me awake.

'Come on, it's daybreak. We've got to go.'

I groaned and fell back down onto the ground.

'No time for that. Come on sleeping beauty, we've got to move.' She said, pulling my arm hard, until I was sitting up.

I would have tried to argue with her, but I knew that the sooner I moved from the floor, the sooner I could be home in Rault, and the sooner I could see Father. Once that thought entered my mind, I practically flew off the basement floor, and began to pack my blanket away, ready for the journey ahead.

Blanche was already ready, her cloak wrapped around her, and her hanker chief pulled over her mouth. When she saw I was ready, she gave me a small nod, and headed upstairs to the main room.

It was deserted. No one else was awake yet. I wasn't surprised, it was daybreak. The sky outside was no longer pitch black, but a soft blue; not quite bright enough for it to be daytime, but certainly no longer night.

Blanche walked right up to the door, and lifted the latch and swung the door open.

'Wait.' I whispered.

She might have said something, but I didn't hear here with her hanker chief over her mouth. She gave me a gesture, as if to say 'What?'

'Shouldn't we say thank you, or leave a note before we go? I feel bad just walking out.'

Blanche looked exasperatingly at me, but eventually conceded, and let the door close.

I looked around for a piece of paper, or anything I could write on. But I couldn't find anything.

It also occurred to me that maybe they couldn't read. Not many people could. And as I had previously discovered, even the people who you expect to be able to read can sometimes surprise you.

After about two minutes of searching, neither of us had found anything, and we were about to give up.

'Good morning.' Came the sing song voice of Rose from the top of the main staircase. She was still dressed in her nightgown from last night, and seemed to be watching us look around.

'Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you.' I said quietly, hoping not to wake up the three strange women, who undoubtedly wanted us gone by that point.

'What are you doing?' She asked, again to no one in particular.

'We were trying to find paper and a pencil. We were going to leave a note to express our thanks, so we didn't wake you up.'

Rose didn't say anything. She just descended the staircase, gracefully. It looked almost like gliding. It was almost if she had been trained in how to do it, like highborns were.

Blanche pulled down her hanker chief and turned to face Rose.

'Thank you for letting us hide again. And this time, I really hope it will be the last time I impose on you.' She said.

'No, thank you.' Rose said, turning to face me. Blanche looked a little puzzled.

'Why?' I asked.

'For the stories of the world.' She said softly, looking at me directly in the eye.

I smiled a little.

'You're very welcome. I'll have to find you again to tell you more.' I joked.

'There is more?' She looked surprised.

'Yes, of course.' I said.

'Oh.' Was all she replied.

'Maybe after your birthday, your aunts might let me visit.' I told her.

Her pale face lit up with a small smile.

'Maybe. But they mean what they say, please do not tell anyone we are here.' She said.

I nodded.

'Of course.' I told her. 'I wish you a happy birthday in advance.'

'Yes, Happy birthday Rose. May it be an eventful one.' Blanche said.

Rose just nodded her thanks.

And with that, Blanche walked back to the door, and opened it for me. I gave the mysterious girl of the forest one more smile before walking out, back into the forest.

It was cold, very cold. It was daybreak on an early April morning, so I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but it still was unpleasant. A thin fog clung to the ground, a sign of the temperature. I couldn't stop shaking and shivering. My teeth clattered in my skull, making a horrid noise that never seemed to end.

I wished I had kept Ella's cloak. I had sold it a while before, when the winter started coming in, and we needed more money for firewood and food. I hadn't wanted to part with it, but I didn't really have much choice. That cloak was a lot warmer than the one I was currently wearing, a thin brown thing. But, it was better than nothing, and I pulled it as tightly around my frame as I could, trying to keep the cold out.

We both trudged through the thick forest, bleary eyed and a little sleepy. I didn't really pay much attention to where we were going, only that we were going forward, and that I didn't trip up again. Each step brought me closer and closer to home.

Home, Father, Alright. I'd repeated those words all throughout the day before, and now, they wouldn't stop sounding in my head.

Every step I took brought me closer.

Just keep going, keep moving. I didn't care about the cold, or the damp dew that was seeping through my thin boots. I forgot about my hunger, the blisters forming on my feet, and the bruises I acquired the day before from falling over.

I just had to get home.

One foot in front of the other. Keep moving forward.

About an hour in, the sun was finally bright enough that our pace could pick up, and the fog had lifted. We sped up considerably, and I felt better; knowing I was going to be home soon, and the exercise warmed my muscles.

Blanche (or Bianca) tried talking to me every so often, but my heart wasn't in it. I knew she was still feeling a little guilty over dragging me into hiding with her, and she tried to make up for it by making sure this day wasn't a repeat of the previous one. She made sure we stayed well off the path, just in case anyone was still looking for us. She also spoke to the birds frequently. She still didn't tell me what exactly they said, but they seemed to tell her enough to put her at ease that no one was following us.

We continued this way for several hours. We didn't ignore each other, but both of us were wrapped up in our own heads a little too much. The Sun was now quite high in the sky, and the air had significantly warmed up. I no longer had to grasp my cloak so tightly, I could just let it fall behind me. My back ached from carrying the bag that contained all of my belongings, I hadn't left anything in Milton. I wasn't even sure if I was returning, if I'd ever see my friends again. But that wasn't a question for right now. The only question that I was concerned with was 'Is Father going to be alright?'

The trees began to eventually thin out, and more and more light spilled onto the ground beneath my feet. Before I could notice, Blanche had pointed out we were almost back to the main path, and almost at Rault. My heart leapt, and stopped at the same time. I was home, but I had no idea what awaited me.

Would Father have recovered in the four or so days since Alexander had written the letter? Or would he be worse?

I was glad to be home, but also utterly terrified. I didn't know what to do, or how to feel.

It wasn't too long before we began to climb the familiar hill, the one that lay just before Rault. We kept climbing up and up and up. By the time we got to the top, we were both out of breath and tired. Sweat was beginning to form on my back and on my brow. Blanche was definitely more used to this than I was, but I supposed that's what happened when you lived in the forest. We both stopped to rest for a minute when we got to the top.

I looked down the other side. There, before me, was Home.

My village. I could see the meadows and the fields, and all the small houses and cottages. The market square and in the distance was the manor house where Ella had lived. I didn't know what to think, what to feel. Only that my heart was full.

'I can't go any further.' Blanche said quietly.

I nodded. She usually left me here, to go back into hiding.

'And, I'm very sorry again, for everything that happened yesterday.' She continued.

'Please, don't. It wasn't your fault.' I told her.

I stopped for a moment.

'Wait.' I said. Blanche looked at me.

'You said, you are Lady Bianca Knox, daughter of Duke Knox.' I said.

She nodded slowly, as if remembering her past life still brought her pain, even after all this time.

'So, does that mean that this evil woman you are hiding from, is she the current Duchess?'

Dukes and Duchess's were almost the highest rank in the land, save the royal family. So the only way Blanche could really have been threatened by someone, was if they shared her rank, or were a member of the royal family. And the only way someone could share her rank, was if they were a Duchess too.

'Yes.' Blanche said, no louder than a whisper. 'She's my step mother.'

Well, at least I now knew who exactly she was on the run from. I didn't know much about Duchess Knox, only that she ruled over the area of land that Milton was built on. However, she didn't really have much power over Milton, as there was a lord.

There was a lord, who…. Who…..

Actually, was there a lord?

I'd never heard of one. There was no castle near Milton, and I couldn't actually remember if anyone had ever talked of one.

Maybe there wasn't a lord. Maybe I'd just presumed that a village of that size would have a lord governing it. Clearly I had been mistaken.

Then why hadn't the Duchess used her power to rule Milton? If villages or towns didn't have a lord or lady, then they were directly ruled by the next tier of the nobility, earls or Dukes. Something didn't add up. But there was no point debating it whilst stood on top of a hill outside of Rault.

'Are you sure you don't want me to call you 'My Lady?' I asked, mockingly.

'As sure as you don't want a smack around the head.' She replied with a small smile.

I shrugged, and turned around to face Rault. Home.

Emotions swirled around me, and I didn't know what to think or feel.

'I hope your Father gets better.' Blanche said behind me. 'And even if you don't need to go back to Milton, please still see me. Find an excuse, any excuse, but please. I'm going to miss our tri-monthly walks.'

I could see there were small tears in her eyes. I hadn't occurred to me that this might be our last trip together. I wasn't sure if I was returning.

'Then, can I just say thank you, for everything you've done.' I told her. 'I mean it. Thank you for keeping me safe for two years, and thank you for putting up with me.'

'No, thank you for putting up with me.' She said. 'If I hadn't met you, I would have become one of those heartless criminals long ago, you kept me on the right track. You're very special Marion, please remember that.'

'You're very special too Blanche. A real life Robin Hood. Thank you for the adventure.' I could feel the tears in my own eyes now, pricking at the edges.

Blanche walked towards me, and gave me the largest hug I'd ever had from her. She held me as tightly as I did her, both of us trying to keep the tears back.

When we parted, I looked to Blanche.

'Thank you for being my friend.' I told her.

'No, thank you for being my friend.' She said.

We both laughed a little, before Blanche patted me on the shoulder and took a step back.

'Goodbye Marion.'

'Goodbye Bianca.' I said. Her mouth perked up a little at her real name. She didn't say anything else, but ran back into the trees of the forest, back into hiding.

It didn't take me long to reach Rault. I was fighting back tears all the way down the path. Between saying goodbye to Blanche for what may have been the last time, and fear for Father, I was feeling quite emotional.

I found my pace was getting quicker and quicker the closer I got to our cottage. I paid no attention to the other houses, or the fields or meadows. I just keep looking ahead to our cottage.

It looked the same as ever. The garden grass was too long, we never had enough time to cut it properly. The windows were a little dirty and the door was rotting away. I walked through the gate and up to that door, trying to keep my breathing in check. The door was shut, and for a moment, I didn't know what to do. Did I just walk in, or knock? My family had always met me at the edge of the village before, so the door was always open, but not today. It felt strange having to knock on your own door, but I lifted my hand, curled it into a fist, and knocked loudly three times.

I could hear the muffled sounds of my siblings talking through the door. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I tried to prepare myself for what lay inside.

I hoped with all my heart that it would be exactly as I had left it, Father would be healthy and fine. My siblings would be running around like their usual selves.

The latch on the door lifted, and the wood groaned as someone pulled it open.

Clara was stood behind the door, her eyes red and puffy, like she had just been crying. I took one look at her. I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I grabbed her, and drew her in for a hug while she cried into my shoulder, shuddering and sobbing. I couldn't stop my own tears flowing down my face as I held on to her.

Daniel appeared behind Clara in the door way. He didn't look like he had been crying, but he was not happy.

I tried to open my mouth to ask him what was happening, but I didn't need to.

'He's still here, but in a bad way.' Daniel said quietly.

I sniffed and nodded, releasing Clara from my grasp.

She stepped to the side and let me past. I walked into the house quickly, and almost threw my bag on the floor in impatience.

The door to Father's bedroom was open, and Richard and Tom were inside, one holding his hand, and the other with a wet scrap of fabric, trying to cool him down.

I vaguely saw Gwen and Robbie out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't stop to greet them. I marched into Father's room.

He was lying on the bed, pale as death, with his eyes closed, and his chest barely rising. He took small shuddering breaths, his lip trembling as he did. He looked so thin, so fragile. Dark circles lay beneath his eyes, and the lines I had notice the last time I had seen him were now even more pronounced.

Tom let go of Father's hand when he saw me, and stepped back. I thought he was going to let me get to Father, but he walked towards me and wrapped his arms around my middle. Sometimes I forgot how young he was. Robbie and Gwen were always the babies, so Tom just always had seemed older. But he wasn't, he was only twelve. He was just a little boy.

I held onto him, but I watched Father. Daniel eventually coaxed Tom away from me with the promise of some food, and I was free to attend to Father.

He was young, only Forty-five, but he looked older, much older. That blasted winter had changed him so much.

I knelt by his bedside, opposite where Richard was still trying to cool his brow. Reaching forward I took his hand. It was warm, too warm. But I wrapped my fingers around him anyway.

His head turned slightly when I touched him. His eyes fluttered open with what looked like a lot of pain and effort.

'Hannah?' He managed to utter out, his voice hoarse and barely more than a whisper.

'No, it's Marion. Your big girl.' I whispered.

He didn't react.

'You're here. My Marion.' His eyes shut again, but he didn't turn away. His breaths were still coming in, his chest moving just enough to let me know he was still alive. But he seemed to have fallen back asleep.

And so, I stayed, kneeling at his bedside; hoping and praying for him to get better. I wanted it more than I had wanted anything else in my life. I wanted him well, healthy, and back to how he was before.

I wanted my Father back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

I stayed the rest of the morning by my Father's side, just holding on to him. Eventually Daniel came and placed his arm on my shoulder and told me to come and get some food. Clara took over my place by his bedside as I reluctantly moved away.

My own breathing was ragged as I walked out of his bedroom and sat at the table. Daniel poured a little soup into a bowl and handed it to me. It wasn't much food, not much at all, but I didn't have much of an appetite anyway.

'How long?' I asked softly to Daniel when he sat in the chair opposite me.

My brother looked up at me.

'About five days ago, he collapsed. Robbie found him. It was horrible. We thought it was just the lack of food, and tried to get him to eat more, but then Mr Smith came around.'

He took a deep breath.

'It's worse. He's caught some sort of sickness. The hunger didn't help him fight it, and now it's only going to get worse probably. We don't know how long, or what to do.'

He sounded defeated, utterly defeated. I tried to hold back the tears.

This was my Father. He couldn't be this sick, he just couldn't. He was big and strong. He'd always been my protector, the one I looked up to. He could not be this bad.

I could almost feel my heart breaking inside my chest. It couldn't have come to this, surely not. We'd already lost our mother; we couldn't lose him too.

'You should eat.' Daniel said quietly. 'It might make you feel better.'

I knew he was trying to help, trying to distract me, but I couldn't bring myself to oblige him. I just stared at the table, wishing something would make this all go away.

Gwen had made her way over to the table, and placed her hand on my right shoulder. I jumped at the contact, but when I noticed it was my baby sister, I just lost it. Tears fell down my face without restraint, and I clung to her small form. A sob wracked my chest, as emotions poured out of me. Daniel moved around the table to hold onto both of us. Gwen was also crying, but quietly, unlike me.

Robbie also came to join our embrace, he held on to my left arm, and rested his small head on my shoulder. I sobbed and sobbed. My chest felt like it was going to cave in, my heart was just too full.

After a few minutes, the great gasping sobs that had wracked my chest had begun to die down a little, and I began to calm. Gwen wriggled her way out of my embrace, to look towards Father. Clara and Richard were still in his room looking after him.

I looked around the room, noting one vital absence.

'Where's Alexander?' I asked.

He wasn't there. He hadn't been there when I entered the house, and he wasn't here now.

'He's out. He'll be back soon.'

'Out where?' I asked.

'Just out.' Daniel replied.

I didn't like that answer one bit. Alexander was far too caring of everyone else to just be out when something like this was happening. He wasn't like this at all. If I knew anything about my brother, he would be right here in this room, taking on far too much responsibility for everything, making sure everyone was alright.

'Where is he?' I asked, more forcefully this time.

Daniel's eyes widened a fraction, and he looked at me, as if to say 'Don't push it.'

I glared at him through my red and puffy eyes. He inclined his head towards the boy's bedroom door, and made his way towards it. I placed Gwen down on the floor, gave her a quick kiss on the head, and followed him.

He shut the door firmly behind me, and placed his finger on his lips, telling me to be quiet.

'He's out hunting for game.' He said, no louder than a whisper, 'I know you don't like it, but it's how we've been eating for the last two months. We need the food. He's been trying to get work, but so far nothing.'

'I told him to stop!' I whispered back. To say I didn't like it was an understatement. I hated it. Hated it with a passion. I didn't want my brothers out poaching. If they were caught- I didn't even want to think about it.

'I know, but we don't have a choice. Especially now that Father is sick. He needs food, good food if he stands any chance at recovery. I trust Alexander, I'm asking you to do the same.'

I didn't like it, not one bit. Alexander was risking his life to make sure we had food.

'What about Ella, has she sent you anymore?' I asked.

'She sent a little more money last week. But, between the Eight of us, it doesn't go very far. Its generous what she sends, more than generous. But with the price of food so high, and eight, now nine of us to feed, it disappears quickly.'

I nodded, food was ridiculously expensive now. A loaf of bread was about half of a labourer's daily wage. Considering I was the only one who was working, or at least had been working, we had not much coming in at all. And then trying to feed eight people on it was almost an impossible task. Back before the winter, when the price of food had been lower, it was more than enough, but now everything was a struggle.

'So, what now?' I asked.

'We wait for Alexander to come back, and then I presume, we talk about what we're going to do. You're the eldest, so really we're all looking to you.' Daniel told me.

It hadn't occurred to me, that I was the eldest, so I might soon find myself as the head of our family. I didn't want to be in charge, I wanted Father to get better and take the responsibility back off me. I wanted him alive and well.

I took a deep breath, and straightened my spine. I had to be stronger than this, for them. For the other eight people in this family. They would all be looking to me, and I had to be ready, even I was didn't want to be. I didn't have a choice. I had to grow up and deal with it.

'Right. How long will Alexander be?' I asked, still with a lump in my throat that I was struggling to swallow.

'Should be less than an hour now, he's been gone most of the morning.'

I nodded. A small knock came at the door, and I opened it. Robbie's little face appeared, his large grey eyes stared up at me.

'Arry?' Robbie said. 'Can you make Father better?'

My heart broke again.

'No, I can't do anything, Robbie. I'm sorry.'

'But Father will be better soon, right?' He said, his bottom lip trembling. He was only nine years old, too young to be dealing with this sort of thing.

'I hope he will, I really hope so.' I said, as walked back out into the main room, and Robbie and Daniel followed behind me.

We waited about an hour in the house, all of us taking in turns watching Father. Daniel and Clara did a marvellous job of trying to distract the little ones as much as they were able. Richard kept himself to himself, as he usually did. I could tell he was taking this rather hard. He didn't like talking at the best of times, but now with everything happening, he'd retreated into himself even more. I felt so sorry for him. I didn't know how to help him.

Clara had been taking it rather hard as well. Her entire life, she's always had her loving nature. Most of the time, it manifested itself in a romantic style. But it stretched to other types of love as well. She loved her family with all her heart, and when she loved, she loved deeply. This was hard on her, really hard.

I tried to distract myself as much as I could. I didn't want to think about what Daniel had said. I was not the eldest in the house, not yet. Father was still alive, I was not head of the family, he was.

I busied myself looking after Robbie and Gwen, reading them stories and listening to all the things that had happened since the last time I visited. Gwen had improved her reading, she could now read long sentences fluently, but still struggled on the really big words. I was so proud of her. She was only eight years old.

Robbie told me of the adventure stories he and some of the other boys from the village had played out. Many of them involved dragons and battles. But that stopped the day he found Father on the floor. He'd come back inside to get a cup of water, and found him lying on the floor, and he wouldn't wake up. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if it had been me, let alone when I was nine years old. He was too young to have to see that.

The door groaned open and a figure stood in the door, with something hanging over his shoulder.

Alexander.

He closed the door the behind him quickly and placed down the sack. I didn't want to know what animal was inside that sack. His hair fell over his eyes, shielding him from my view. He finished tying the sack up, and stood up slowly.

I almost burst into tears when he met my gaze. His eyes, my eyes, our Father's eyes. His face, exactly like Father's; how he should have looked, young and healthy.

We didn't say anything but both walked towards each other, and embraced. I had missed him, so much. He was my closest sibling, the one I trusted to look after everyone. He was only a year younger than me, and therefore we'd always been close.

'How is he?' Alexander murmured.

'He hasn't changed since I got here.' I replied, looking towards Father.

Alexander didn't say anything, but released me slowly. I watched him walk into Father's room and kneel next to Richard by the bedside. The similarities between him and Father were uncanny, and it made looking at them both that much more painful. They both should look like Alexander, but instead, Father was on what looked like his death bed.

Several more hour past, with me talking to each of my siblings, and alternating turns of watching Father.

The sun was beginning to set, when Clara noticed his breathing becoming more and more hagged. She called all of us into his room, weeping as she did.

I could tell she was at a loss as to what to do. We all were.

Alexander didn't have any words, neither did Daniel. And I, I was just beside myself with grief and fear. I couldn't lose my father. And yet, I couldn't stop it.

Alexander told me that Mr Smith had called round the day before, but had no cure or remedy for him. There was nothing he could do, nothing we could do but just hope and pray he got through this.

All eight of us were crowded around his bedside. Richard started to light some candles, as the light was fading fast. I held on to Tom as tightly as I could; Alexander held Gwen in his arms, and Clara held onto Robbie. Daniel and Richard stood at the foot of Fathers bed, stood near enough to offer each other some comfort, but not actually touching.

Father's breath indeed was raspy. His chest moved so little, there were moments when I thought he had already passed.

My chest taking shuddering breaths, and I tried my very hardest to choke down my tears.

Father's eyes fluttered open, every movement he made looked like a hideous struggle. His lips were trembling and bloodless, and yet he opened them regardless.

'Hannah?' He whispered, his words no more than a phantom on the wind.

'No, mother's not here. Only us.' Alexander said softly into his ear. He and Gwen were knelt on his right hand side, next to his head.

Father turned his head slowly to look at him. His grey eyes were almost lifeless.

'Alexander.' He breathed. 'And little Gwen. My baby girl.'

Gwen reached forward with her small hand and touched his cheek softly.

'Father, are you getting better?' She asked, her little voice sounded so much louder than his.

'I don't think so, my darling. But you needn't worry, your big brothers and sisters will look after you.' He rasped.

His head turned slowly, looking at each of us in turn.

Finally, his eyes rested on me, at the left hand side of his head.

'You will look after them, won't you. You will take care of them all.'

I swallowed a sob, and took his hand in my own.

'Of course. I swear I won't let anything harm them. I will look after them.' I told him, meaning every single word.

I lifted his scarred and calloused hand to my lips and kissed it gently.

'Promise me, all of you. You will take care of each other.' He breathed.

I nodded, shutting my eyes firmly trying to banish the tears that had collected there.

'I promise.' I said, with as much conviction as I could muster.

'I promise.' Alexander said on Father's other side.

'I promise.'

'I promise.'

'I promise too.'

Daniel, Clara and Richard all spoke.

'I promise Father.' Tom said quietly.

'I promise.' Robbie's small voice wobbled.

'I promise I will look after them.' Said Gwen. 'Get better Father.'

The corner of his mouth perked up a fraction as Gwen spoke.

'I'm counting on all of you to make me proud.' He said, his voice now even quieter than before. His chest was beginning to slow down, and I had no idea how to stop this from happening.

'Look after each other.' He breathed.

His eyes widened a little, but they were glazed over, as his chest rose for one last time.

'Hannah.' He breathed out, gazing at the space before him.

His chest did not rise again.

We all sat there, frozen. None of us wanted to move, to check.

Even though I couldn't move, I felt hot tears run down my face. They fell, splashing onto my dress and Tom's head.

Alexander moved first. His hand closed around Father's wrist and held on. After a few seconds, he withdrew it, and shook his head.

Gwen looked at him, then at Father. Her little arm moved so she was grabbing his shoulder.

'Father?' She asked, as if he had just fallen asleep.

I stared and stared at him.

He wasn't gone.

He couldn't be gone.

He was right here. He'd wake up in a moment.

The tears began to fall, and then a great gasping sob rose up inside of me and spilled out.

My chest caved in, as I sobbed.

My father was dead.

He was dead.

I tried to breath, but I couldn't. The sobs only grew and grew.

I felt Tom wrap his arms around me, but I couldn't think of anything else.

My Father was dead.

The man who had always been there for me, no matter what. The man who had taught me how to read, how to walk.

He was gone.

I felt Tom crying into my shoulder, but I couldn't hear anything else over the sound of my own screams.

Father was dead, I couldn't bring him back.

He was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight.**

I didn't sleep that night.

Or the next.

Or the next.

I just existed. I didn't really eat much, or do anything.

I spent most of the time crying or staring at nothing.

We all did.

The little ones cried and cried. Gwen wanted to know when Father was coming back to us. Sometimes, she forgot he was gone, and just thought he had gone to sleep. Then she would remember.

That was the worst of it all. There would be mornings when I'd wake from my light nap, and forget that he was gone. And then the memory of it all would come crashing into me. I'd spend so much time after I remembered just silently sobbing.

Alexander took it very hard. He hardly moved from his bed. And when he did, he moved to a chair by the fire, and sat and didn't do anything.

Father and Alexander had worked together for years in the fields. Although Father never loved any one of us more than anyone else, he spent the most time with Alexander, so they were the closest to each other. I hadn't even been around for the past two years; I'd missed so much. But Alexander had become the eldest in my absence, and he was taking the loss so hard.

I think he felt that it was in part his fault. For not finding work to feed them all. For letting father get away with saying he wasn't hungry until everyone else had eaten. It of course, wasn't true, but I knew my brother, and I knew he would be taking all of this on himself, like he did with most things.

Daniel became the leader of the family briefly. Even though he was still grieving himself, he found the courage to do all the usual things, like cook and clean. I think the tasks took his mind off it, gave him something else to focus on. I tried to help when I could, but my heart wasn't in it. Most of the time, Daniel would tell me to just sit down and let him do it, I was making such a mess of things.

I couldn't even chop vegetables without being reminded of Father. He was everywhere in that cottage. There were memories of him in every tiny crack and crevice.

I could see him teaching Gwen to walk between the chairs and the table. I could see him coming in from the fields with Alexander and placing his bag down next to the door. I could see him reading to Robbie and Tom in their bedroom. I could see him catching spiders in the top right hand corner, above the stove. There wasn't a stone or beam in that place he hadn't touched, and I found it almost impossible to bear the memories.

At night, I'd cry and cry. I tried to get to sleep, I truly tried. I fell asleep for a few hours at a time, but it was never restful. They were full of memories, things that appeared so real that I thought he had come back to us to relive them again. But I would always awaken and know it wasn't to be.

The Funeral came and went in a blur. I vaguely recall leaving the house to talk to the local priest, so we could bury him. I couldn't remember much of the conversation, other than he needed to be buried and we had no money for anything fancy.

The service was almost identical to that of my mother's. I almost didn't listen to most of it. I spent the entire time staring at the plain wooden coffin before me, still not quite fully believing that he was under the lid. The priest droned on and on, not saying anything personal or meaningful. But I didn't care. I just wanted a chance to say goodbye to him properly.

He was buried in the grave on the right hand side of my mother. I knew they'd want to be together, even in death. I could almost imagine their souls embracing each other after their long absence, so happy and joyful.

We, on the other hand, felt anything but.

It slowly, very slowly began to get easier.

Days passed, and I began to get a little more sleep.

More days. Things began to improve.

Weeks began to fly by.

I had by no means forgotten him, I could never forget him. But over the days and the weeks, the grief became slightly easier to bear. It was my constant companion, but it lurked in the back of my mind, not the forefront.

I began helping Daniel more with the chores, finding the distraction oddly satisfying. Focusing on something other than grieving actually helped a lot more than I thought it would. The pain was still there, still behind everything I did, but It wasn't consuming my every thought.

Two weeks passed. We were all still upset and hurting, but we could begin to continue with our lives. The little ones began to go back outside again to play, just for brief amounts of time. I threw myself into all the chores and tasks I used to do before I left for Milton. Having something to accomplish, something to aim for helped immensely. Daniel and Clara helped out a lot more than they used to do, but I think that they had gotten used to it over the last two years, and so now just completed the chores without complaint.

Richard still kept to himself, as he always had done, but I found him occasionally writing or drawing, with a small smile on his face.

Even Alexander began to improve. He did more things. He told me he was still looking for work, and left the house early in the morning and returned later in the evening. I didn't ask him where he had been, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. My suspicion was that he was going back out poaching again. There always seemed to be meat in the pantry, more than I remembered buying. Daniel would claim that he went and bought it, but I didn't believe a word of it.

I wasn't about to stop him. I know in his own way, he was trying to fulfil his promise to our Father, to look after us all. He would uphold his promise, even if it meant taking all the risk on himself. He was just like that; he would do anything for his family.

One day, about two and a half weeks after Father's death, I mustered up the courage to clean all the bedrooms, including his. It hadn't been touched since his passing, and none of us knew what exactly to do with it. Considering the five boys all shared one room, albeit the biggest one, it would have made sense to move one or two of them into that room, but no one particularly wanted to. It was Father's room, his spirit remained there, even if he had passed on.

I dusted the old little table by his bed, and the plain headboard. I changed the sheets, even if no one was going to be sleeping there, it felt wrong having the material he died in still on the bed. With some flowers I had picked from outside, I left some on the small table. They matched the ones on his and Mother's grave.

I finished in his room, trying to swallow the memories of both my parents dying in that very bed, and closed the door behind me.

Then, I moved on to the boy's room.

It was messy, as it usually was, and the sheets needed changing. How they got them that dirty I would never know. It didn't take that long to do, and I swiftly moved on to mine and my sister's room.

Our room was considerably cleaner than the boys. It always had been, apart from that week when I had become the village seamstress just before the ball. But, me and Clara had always been quite tidy, and we both cleared up after Gwen. I really did have a weakness for my baby sister.

I changed the sheets and dusted down the beds and the small chest of drawers on the left hand side of the room. I accidentally dropped a book on the floor when I moved them from on top of the drawers to the bed, and I bent down to pick it up. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something.

Something small lay just under the chest of drawers. I reached forwards and pulled it out.

It was a small piece of paper, not much larger than my hand. On one side, it was blank, and a little dusty. The left hand side was torn, as if it had been torn from a book. I flipped it over, and found the most unusual thing.

There, on the piece of paper, was a drawing.

A pencil sketch.

Of Gwen.

It was very good; the likeness was uncanny. Her curls fell around her face, and her smile brightened up the page.

No one in our family could draw, or at least not that well. Then who had drawn it?

In the bottom right hand corner, I could make out swirling letters, J.H.

Who was J.H?

I knew no one with initials J.H.

Our Father's initials were J.B, and he couldn't draw anyway, and besides, if it was a picture of Gwen, he would have written Father. Jaqueline was J.K, James was J.T, and I highly doubted that one year old baby Jonathan could draw.

I had no idea who the artist was.

And yet, there was something about this drawing that seemed oddly familiar. Like I had seen it before, or at least seen something similar. There was something about it, something I couldn't place my finger on.

'Clara?' I shouted into the main room. I only had to wait a second before her head appeared in the door frame.

'What's this?' I asked, showing her the drawing.

Her brow crinkled, as she looked at it confused.

'I don't know.' She replied, still staring at it.

'Have you ever seen it before?' I asked.

She took a moment, her head tilting to the side a little.

'No…um, maybe. Actually, no I don't think so.' She said, unsurely, 'But it looks familiar.'

'Same. It feels familiar.' I told her, staring back at the page.

'Does it have a label, or a name?'

'Only this.' I pointed to the swirling initials in the bottom right hand corner.

'Whose J.H?' She asked.

'I have no idea, I thought you'd know.' I said, confused.

'No, never heard of anyone called J.H' She admitted.

'CLARA! THE SOUP!' Daniel shouted from the main room.

Clara's eyes widened, and she ran back to try and stop it from over boiling.

I took one last look at the drawing before me, trying desperately to work out what it was about it that seemed familiar. Suddenly, a thought flew through my head. Something to do with posing for drawings. I remembered being in a clearing, and someone was drawing me. It whizzed through my mind and then it was gone again.

As I stood, my head went dizzy, yet again. Black spots clouded my vision, and I felt the world slipping away from me. I took a few seconds, and then the world came back.

In the end, I gave up and placed it back on top of the chest of drawers and went back to dusting. After all, it wasn't going to dust itself. I'd ask Gwen when she finished playing outside about who drew it for her. I shut the door to our bedroom, and went to see if there was anything to do with the dinner.

* * *

Later that evening, Alexander came through the door quietly. So quietly I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been sat in the chair facing the door, waiting for his arrival. He once again had a shoulder bag hauled over his shoulder, that looked fairly full.

His face went red when he saw that I had caught him. He carefully set the bag down in the pantry and returned to the main room, where I was still there, waiting. Daniel had been sat next to me, also waiting.

We had agreed earlier that day that the three of us needed to sit down and talk, and work out what on earth we were going to do now.

I was technically the eldest, and therefore I should be head of the family. But Alexander was the eldest boy, and had been at home for the last two years. And Daniel had taken on most of my responsibilities recently, so all three of us really were the head.

It was up to us to figure out how we were going to survive. We had to work out who was responsible for what, and what we were going to do about the sorry situation of destitution we found ourselves in. No one was working, and there didn't seem to be much more work in Rault, or nearby that someone could take.

'Alexander.' I said quietly when he returned. 'We need to talk.'

He didn't say anything but inclined his head towards Father's room. I understood why he wanted to talk in there, it was probably the only room in the cottage that none of our other siblings would just barge into. I stood and led the way, my brothers trailing behind me. Daniel was the last through the door, and he closed it firmly shut behind him.

'So?' Alexander said, with a rather annoyed toned.

'Excuse me?' I replied, shocked.

Alexander sighed loudly.

'Are you going to tell me off for trying to do something to help everyone?'

'Alexander, you know we need to talk.'

'No, we don't. All you're going to do is yell and shout at me for actually doing to make us not starve! I don't see you doing anything!' He shouted.

'How dare you!'

'How dare I what, Marion? How dare I actually go out of the house and get food for us all? How dare I actually give a damn to whether anyone else dies from starvation? I'm not going to sit around the house for a moment longer, while we all just waste away. I meant that promise I made to Father, and I intend to keep it,'

I was shocked. I had never before seen him act like this. Never. He'd always been so kind, so caring. We'd had petty quarrels as children, but never anything like this.

'You are not the only person in this family who cares if anyone else dies of starvation, Alexander! How could you even say that?' I yelled back to him.

'Well, I don't see you running off into the forest every day to get food.'

'No, because I buy food, like you are supposed to. I follow the law, and I am not risking my neck being stupid!'

'I have no choice. If I don't go and get game, then we will starve.'

'No we won't. Not immediately. Someone will find work soon. And we still have money coming in that Ella give us. So we will get by if you stop poaching!' I told him.

'It's not enough. It will never be enough. Not until there is a good harvest and food prices come down. Arry, wake up, we don't have the money to survive like this! How many deaths in this family will it take to make you realise this?' Alexander spat back.

I was stunned. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

'He's right.' Daniel muttered quietly. 'Without the game, we would be nearly starving now.'

I felt the tears rise again. We couldn't be this destitute, we just couldn't be. How had things gotten this bad?

I slumped onto Father's bed, trying to control the tears. It had been less than a month since I had knelt in that very room and sworn to my father I would protect and look after them all. And already, I felt them slipping away, and I was powerless to stop it.

'I meant my promise to Father too.' I said softly. 'I promised him I would look after you all. I'm the eldest, and I promised to look after and protect you all. That includes you, Alexander, whether you like it or not. And you risking your life poaching does not count as me looking after you.'

Alexander's shoulders seemed to sag as I spoke. He took a deep breath, and knelt before me.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean all that.' He said. I could see the tears lining his eyes as well, our father's eyes. 'I'm just- I only….'

'I hate this, hate the idea you might be caught if you're not careful. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to any of you.' I told him.

'I know, but you have to understand, I feel the same.' He admitted. 'And me doing this is going to help all of us. And I am careful, I won't get caught.'

No matter how many times he said that, I couldn't help but feel anxious. It didn't matter how careful they were. If the wrong person saw them at the wrong time, they'd be in for it.

'I just hate it. You promised me last time I was here that you were looking for a way out of it.'

'I was, but there's still no work. Maybe after Springbloom next week, they might consider working the fields again, but it's not guaranteed.'

'I'll go with you.' Daniel said, louder than he had been all day.

'What?' I asked.

'I'll go and work in the fields with you.' He replied, talking to Alexander. 'I'd prefer to be a servant, but there's no work, so I'll work with you until I can find something else.'

'But it's not even certain that I'll be allowed to work there, let alone you; with no experience.' Alexander told him.

'It's digging a field; how hard can it be?' Daniel joked. 'And if Marion's back for good, then she can do the cooking and cleaning, and all the things I normally do.'

'That's the thing.' I muttered. 'I might not be staying for good.'

Both of their heads snapped towards me.

'Before I left Milton, Madam Cartwright told me if I want to go back, there is a job waiting for me in Milton.'

'Do you want to go back?' Alexander asked.

'It's not really a question of wanting, it's a question of do we need the money, and we clearly do.' I told them.

'But, Father just died, you can't leave us as well!' Daniel said.

'I don't want to go, but it might be our only option.' I admitted.

Alexander seemed to ponder this for a moment, before staring directly at me.

'I think, we should wait. At least until after Springbloom. If we get work, you stay and take over from Daniel. If we don't then you go back to Milton and send us what you can.' Alexander said. 'And, I am allowed to go poaching until springbloom to feed us. But after then, no more.'

I found I was surprisingly alright with this compromise. It at least set a date as to when he would stop risking his life for all of us. I didn't like the week long wait, I wanted him to stop immediately, but I knew deep down he would never agree to that.

'I think that's a good idea.' Daniel added.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Sensible options, that's what we had. I just had to keep ignoring my brother's poaching habits for one more week, I could do that.

'Alright. You stop the day after Springbloom, understand?'

Alexander nodded.

'Clear as day. It's what's best, for all of us.' He said.

I just had to hope and pray with all my might that it was.

It was what was best.

It had to be.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine.**

The day of Springbloom dawned. I awoke early, as I usually did. I still felt heavy and tired, still grieving, even though it had been almost a month since that fateful day. I had felt like that for several months when mother had died, so I wasn't expecting it to simply disappear overnight. But, it was alright. I was going to be alright. I would get through this. I could live with the loss of my father.

But, the current situation we were in, that was something I couldn't live with. I couldn't let my family starve.

Alexander and Daniel had still yet to find work, they'd asked all around the village, even to the villages surrounding Rault. But, the winter had been hard everywhere, and even though some fields were starting to get back to work, the ones at Rault hadn't. And all the other villages already had workers from their own villages, so they couldn't take them on.

Ella actually had almost come to save the day. Her previous gift of money had been large, much larger than we were expecting. She really was an angel. It was enough money that meant that we could survive for at least another month without drastic action.

However, mine and Alexander's agreement still stood. If he hadn't found work by the end of the day, I would be going back to Milton to take up my position at Madam Cartwright's. It wasn't that I didn't want to go back to Milton; I had thoroughly enjoyed my two years living there. But I didn't want to leave my family again, not after such a tragic loss. Gwen had developed a habit of climbing into bed with me when she had bad dreams. A lot of them had involved her reliving the day Father had passed. I was almost sure that Robbie had the same problem, and he got into bed with Alexander. I hated the idea of leaving them all when they were still hurting and grieving.

But, desperate times called for desperate measures, and we needed the money.

By the time we were all ready to leave the house, the sun was high in the sky, and the spring air was warm and pleasant.

All of us were dressed fairly nicely, well as nice as we had.

Springbloom was a festival celebrated in late April. It was supposed to celebrate the fruitfulness of spring, the flowers and fruits. Around midday, there was a gathering of the entire village for the annual game, and then there would usually be a dance afterwards.

I wasn't really in the mood for any of it. I didn't like the idea of dancing and playing games, not when Father wasn't here with us. But everyone else liked the idea, and particularly the younger ones wanted to join in the competition. So, I had agreed to go and at least pretend to enjoy myself.

All of us emerged from our little cottage and made our way towards the market square in the centre of Rault.

There were several people already there milling around and talking. We all split up to go and greet our friends. The youngest three ran off to talk to some of the other children who they frequently played with. Alexander and Daniel found their group of boys who were the same age as them, and Clara had a gaggle of girls she liked to talk and gossip with. And I was left with Richard.

It wasn't that I didn't have any friends. There were girls who were my age who I quite liked; namely the ones I adjusted ball gowns for. But as I hadn't really been home in two years, I lost touch with most of them. Some of them had even gotten married, and had families of their own, or had one on the way.

It felt strange to imagine that I was old enough to be married and become a mother. Even though Ella had been married for a good while, it still felt that marriage was a long way off for me. I wasn't sure I was ready for it, or was going to be ready for it anytime soon.

And so, Richard and I stood at the side of the market square, just talking amongst ourselves. It wasn't too long before someone stood on a small crate and announced the competition would be starting soon.

All of my siblings came running back to where we were stood, and I saw other families move towards each other.

Every year, there was a competition on Springbloom. Each family had to run into the woods, and find the prettiest and most perfect flower. It was meant to be a symbol of the prosperity of the coming year, or something like that. Only one flower was allowed per family, and they only had an hour to go and find it. We had only ever won one year, when I was thirteen. I think having a large family helped, it meant you could cover more ground quicker, a fact Daniel liked to remind us of every year. He got very competitive over this.

We'd already agreed that I didn't have to join them this year. I really was not in the mood. I was going to wait in the square for them to return with seven different flowers like they normally did, and I would pick which one they gave over to the judges.

The man on the crate counted down from ten, and then they were all off. People all took off in different directions all heading for some area of the forest, determined to find the perfect flower.

I wasn't left alone though, in the market square. Some of the parents and older members of the village had stayed behind too. I knew I was in for a long hour, and so I moved to the side of the square, where I could sit on the worn down stone wall.

I just sat there in silence for a considerable amount of time. I entertained myself with thoughts as to what I still had to do to get ready for going back to Milton. It almost seemed inevitable now, I didn't think they'd find work today of all days.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I whirled around as much as I could, still sat on a wall. Behind me was Annabel.

I hadn't seen her in a very long time. Not really since the ball, she had organised the carts going up to the Palace.

'Hello. Haven't seen you around for a while.' She said, taking the spot on the wall beside me.

'No, I haven't really left the house much.'

'Yes, I heard. I'm so sorry about your father, Marion. How are you doing?' She said.

'I don't want to talk about it.' I told her quickly. And it was true, I really didn't.

'Alright.' She said.

We sat in silence for a few moments before she turned to face me.

'Want to hear some gossip?' She asked.

I shrugged.

'Some people have been saying that someone is staying in the manor house. Lady Ella's visited a few times, but recently some of the chimneys have been producing smoke and there are strange noises coming from the house.'

A jolt of cold ran through me. That manor had been my home for nearly three years. To hear that someone was there, without Ella's knowledge, disturbed me. I didn't like the idea of some stranger walking through those corridors I used to clean and the room I used to sleep in.

'No one's seen them, but I heard someone say that it's a faerie.' She continued.

That meant even more bad news. Faeries were not kind and benevolent creatures. I'd only heard of one, the one who helped Ella, but they rarely did anything without an ulterior motive.

'It's probably just rubbish, but isn't it exciting; A faerie might be just over there!' Annabel squealed.

I wasn't anywhere near as ecstatic by the news.

'Oh, and you also probably don't know about the scandal with Theresa!' Annabel said, and then went onto a very long tirade about Theresa running off and getting married to a boy her parents disapproved of. I didn't listen to most of it, just sat and nodded my head at the appropriate times.

Eventually, some of the families began to return, flowers in hand. The time was almost up, and they placed their flowers carefully on the table ready to be judged.

My siblings had still not returned yet, but that didn't bother me. Knowing Daniel, he would have a fool proof plan of the way they could scour the forest for the longest time, covering the most distance. They were usually one of the last people back.

More and more people began to fill up the square again. Small children pulled their parents and grandparents to the table to make them look at the flower they had found, and some of the older ones began to take bets amongst themselves as to who had picked the most perfect flower.

Annabel eventually left to go and re-join her own family, leaving me alone again on the wall.

There was something she had said that made my heart ache.

When she had talked about Theresa marrying a man her parents didn't approve of, it almost made me cry. I realised in that moment, I was never going to get married to a man my parents approved of, or didn't approve of. They were no longer around to make that judgement. They were never going to walk me down the aisle. I was never going to bring a boy home for my father to quiz about his intentions. I was never going to get any of that.

Because, they were gone. And they were never coming back.

I had tried my best to listen to the rest of what she said, but I couldn't move past that fact.

Before I knew it, there was the man stood on the crate again, announcing there was two minutes left for entry.

And my family still hadn't returned.

They were usually back by this point.

The crowd got gradually bigger and bigger, and I scanned it furiously trying to find any of them.

Where were they?

I stood on the wall I was sat on, trying to get a higher angle so I could see them.

But nothing.

They weren't there.

There was no sign of anyone coming out of the forest either.

The man on the crate announced one more minute, and they still weren't there.

I started to panic. Where on earth were they? They had never missed the deadline, never.

I kept looking, and eventually turned to the forest, in the direction they had left, but they were not walking out of the woods.

They were nowhere to be seen.

The man counted down from ten and shouted that the game had ended.

Daniel was going to be very mad when he got back, I thought.

The crowd began to clear away from the table, now full of very pretty flowers, to make space for the baker's wife, farmer's wife, and the carpenter's wife to walk towards the table. They were the judges this year, and had to judge the completion blindly, so there would be no family bias.

I didn't really care. I was still trying to find my siblings.

Maybe they had just lost track of time. Maybe they were on their way back there right now. But the minutes dragged on and on, and there was still no sign of them.

The three ladies were now down to picking their final three flowers.

Then, I felt it.

We all felt it.

Something went right through the crowd, right through all of us.

A sort of tremor that we could all feel, but not see. It was so strange. Everyone stopped, frozen still.

It felt like; it felt like magic.

The panic rose in my throat as I slowly turned to face the source of the tremor. Everyone slowly turned with me.

We couldn't see anything, just the forest, but we all knew. No one dared move; other than their heads.

Then, he emerged.

An old man, with long flowing grey hair. On his wrinkled face, he had a large long grey beard, untidy and knotted in a strange fashion.

He walked slowly towards the crowd, his eyes shining and taking in every single one of us.

His eyes, they were so peculiar, gold in colour.

The exact same shade as the eyes of those three women who lived with Rose in the forest.

He came closer and closer to us. Then he suddenly stopped and moved his hand forward.

Seven shapes shot out of the forest behind him, making for the crowd.

No, not shapes. People.

Seven children.

Alexander, Daniel, Clara, Richard, Tom, Robbie and Gwen.

All of them were floating above the ground and struggling against some type of invisible bonds that seemed to hold them all in place.

My heart exploded.

My siblings, they were all tied up. And floating.

I jumped off the wall, not very gracefully, and ran towards them. Or at least I would have done if I could have gotten through the crowd. I elbowed and pushed as hard as I could, trying to get through.

No, no, no, this could not be happening.

I had to get to them, make sure they were alright. I had to get them home, right now.

I pushed and pleaded and shoved my way through. By the time I made it to the middle of the market square, people had already moved aside, making a space near to where the table of flowers was. I burst past the last person and almost fell into the empty space.

There they all were. All seven of my siblings, bound and lined up, floating as if by magic.

Alexander met my gaze, even as he was struggling to move his arms.

I ran towards them, but hit something hard. A blast of air pushed me back a few steps, stunning me.

'STOP.' A loud voice shouted. That voice, it seemed familiar.

I turned to face it. There before me, stood the old man. I could just about see his ears poking through his long hair.

They were pointed, sharp and deadly.

He was Fae.

This old man was a faerie!

My heart almost stopped. What was he going to do to them?

'Let them go, please.' I begged, my own voice cracking just a little.

'Who are you?' He asked, staring directly at me.

'I'm their sister. Please, they've done nothing wrong.' I told him, trying my hardest to hide the panic and pain in my voice.

'Yes they have.' He said, his voice had a strange sort of otherworldliness about it.

I stared at Alexander and Daniel, my eyes wide. What on earth had they done to end up like this?

'They stole from me. They tried to pick one of my enchanted Roses. And that one,' He said, pointing to little Gwen. 'Almost ate one of my apples.'

I couldn't believe this faerie. He tied up my family for stealing one single apple and a flower.

'We're sorry.' Alexander said, still struggling against his bonds.

I looked down the line at all of my siblings, the little ones looked like they were about to cry.

'Please. Please just let them go. It was only one apple.'

The Faeries faced turned stone cold.

'One of my apples!' He shouted. 'They are not like your awful human fruit.'

'They meant no harm, they're very sorry.' I told him. 'Please, just let them go. I'll do anything.'

'Oh stop your whining.' He spat.

But there was no way I was going to let him get away with this.

'They didn't mean it. I'm begging you, just let them go.'

'Be quiet!' He said.

'They're just children, they didn't know what they were doing.' My voice was getting higher and higher, and breaking. Tears collected in my eyes as I begged him.

'I SAID ENOUGH!' He bellowed and waved his hand at me, his eyes flaring a horrid red colour.

I felt it, something ripped into my throat and pulled. I wanted to scream but no sound came out.

I opened my mouth again, but still nothing.

I tried forming words, but nothing came out.

I couldn't speak.

He had taken my voice.

I stared at him, still trying to get out words, but nothing came.

I felt the tears run down my face them, and I couldn't stop them. I fell to my knees, crying and sobbing silently.

He looked at me, a horrid satisfied smile on his face.

'That's better. No more nagging.' He said.

I tried swearing at him, but still nothing.

He looked at me, his head tilting to one side curiously.

He raised his hand again, and I jumped back, trying to get away from it. He laughed a little, and then passed it over my head.

'So, you're already under a spell, which one?' He said quietly.

I flinched. I was under a spell? When had I been put under a spell? What spell, what was happening. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. The tears were still falling.

'Oh, my spell.' He muttered to himself. 'Oh, that one. That one worked perfectly. You still have no idea.' He laughed.

What was he talking about? When had he put a spell on me? I had never seen him before in my life.

'Which memories did I take from you then?' He asked.

I was getting more and more confused by the second, and more and more scared. I had no clue what was going on, and my siblings were still tied up. We were all completely at his mercy. I just wanted to grab them all and run. I hated this. Fear and terror filled every part of me.

'Him! That ginger boy!' The faerie laughed.

What was he saying, which ginger boy? I'd never met any ginger boy before.

He placed his hand down, and went back to looking at my siblings.

'These children.' He bellowed, loud enough so everyone could hear him. 'Thought it was a good idea to steal from me. Regardless of the object, they need to be punished. Thieves always should be punished.'

I sobbed. I had to get them out of here, but I couldn't get close to them. I was so scared for them, and terrified for myself. I still couldn't speak.

'Thieves cannot control their own basic instincts; they are no better than animals.'

Then, his face contorted into a hideous smile, one that drove terror into my heart.

'So, that's what they shall be.'

He raised his hand again, and this time, golden ribbons of light began to emerge from his fingertips.

I tried to scream, beg him to stop, but still no sound. I moved, trying to put myself between the golden magic and my siblings, but another gust of wind pinned me to the ground.

No, no, no, this could not be happening.

It got Alexander first, then all of them in turn. Most of them cried out or started screaming, and I was powerless to stop it. More sobs wracked my chest as I was forced to watch as one by one, my brothers and sisters were covered completely in golden magic.

'By day, you shall remain in this form, but by night, you will become human again.' I heard the faerie say, but I couldn't look away from the now seven balls of golden light.

I felt his gaze fall on me again, but I did not look towards him. Only at where my siblings used to be.

'And you need to learn to hold your tongue.' He snarled.

'The curse shall be broken when you do not speak a word, or utter any sound, for an entire year.'

What?

What did he just say?

A year. I had to be silent for a year.

I felt a golden shimmer surround me, but I couldn't see anything past the now shrinking shapes of my siblings. The sobs would not stop, and I struggled to breathe. This couldn't be happening, I had to get them out.

The golden light disappeared, and I blinked.

Before me, were no more balls of light.

Seven animals now stood where my siblings had been stood just moments before.

Where Alexander had been, there now was a small brown squirrel, with sad grey eyes, staring at me.

Daniel had been transformed into a black Raven, his midnight feathers rustling slightly as he took in his new form.

Where Clara had been, there was now a beautiful white swan, which was emitting a noise I guessed was supposed to be a cry.

I almost missed Richard, for in his place was a small rolled up hedgehog.

Tom's small face and body had been changed into orange fur, as he was now a fox.

Robbie was no more, only a small deer, still a fawn, crying and scared.

And Gwen.

My little baby sister.

She was so small I could barely see her through the tears. A tiny field mouse now sat where she had been, scurrying up to Tom's side trying to hide in his fur.

No, no, NO! They were all animals. They had all been cursed.

I turned to face the evil faerie, the one I now hated with every fibre of my being. I was going to kill him for what he had done to them. I didn't care about the consequences for me, I was going to kill him.

His eyes were bright red, and glowing. They sent another lick of fear into my heart, but I pushed it down. I tried to get off the ground, but I found I couldn't.

'And one more thing.' He said, before raising his arms towards the sky.

Every member of the crowd froze. He was doing something to them, but I couldn't tell what. His horrid grin still hadn't left his face. I was going to rip it off if necessary as soon as I could move.

His arms lowered slightly and he faced me again, pointing his hand towards me.

I flinched.

Then I felt it, the missing part of my being pushed back into my body. I felt as it settled in my throat, rather uncomfortably, and I had to swallow to get it back into place.

I knew my voice was back.

I opened my mouth to scream at him, but he only placed his finger in front of his lips.

'Hush now, silence for a year, then you can have your siblings back.' He taunted me.

I still couldn't move, but I knew I had to be silent. I didn't have any choice. Tears still ran down my face, but they were now ones of pure and utter hate of this being in front of me.

'Have fun with these villagers. None of them can stand you anymore.' He snarled, and then turned around and walked away.

I still couldn't move, but thought about what he had just said,

None of the villagers would like me anymore, what did that mean. What had he done.

What was I going to do now?

What on earth was I going to do?

* * *

AN- Review?


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

As soon as the faerie was out of sight, I pushed myself off the floor, and ran to my siblings. Well, if I could still call them my siblings, they were after all animals.

Gwen scurried towards me, her tiny little legs moving as fast as they could, her brown fur, the exact shade of her hair, shone in the midday sun. Her large black eyes stared at me as she got closer and closer to me.

I bent down and held out my hands to her, and she scrambled over my palms and sat there. She was so small and delicate. I could feel her tiny heart beating so fast, and she was trembling all over. I wanted to burst into tears again. How had that happened so quickly?

The others made their way towards me, all with varying degrees of success. Alexander was climbing up my skirts very quickly, his long bushy tail out behind him to help him balance. Daniel and Clara, who were now birds, found it difficult to balance and walk on their new legs, and fell over multiple times before getting close to me. Richard was still curled up in a ball, hiding from the world. I could tell he was terrified, utterly terrified. Robbie was a little shaky on four legs, but seemed to get the hang of it soon enough. Tom was very fast on his feet. He ran towards me and hid behind my legs.

'How could you?' I heard a loud voice shout from behind me.

I turned around slowly, careful not to drop Gwen out of my hands.

'You brought his wrath down on us!' The Baker's wife shouted at me.

I opened my mouth to shout back, but instantly remembered, I couldn't speak.

Well, I could speak, but in order to break this curse, I couldn't. And of course, I would stay silent for the sake of my family. There was no question about it.

I closed my mouth slowly, swallowing the words in my throat.

'He could have cursed us all! You brought him to the village!' The butcher yelled.

My mind raced. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't speak, couldn't defend myself, or my family.

I placed Gwen carefully in the shallow pocket of my dress, and held out my hands to the crowd of people, all with wrathful looks on their faces.

I tried waving my arms, trying to say 'No, this wasn't our fault.'

But, no one got the message.

'You could have harmed all of us. You and your stupid family!' The Farmer said.

Their words stuck deep. I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. I'd known these people my entire life. These people had been in Rault for as long as I could remember, and now they had all turned on me. The Farmer had worked with Father all of his life. He was barely even cold in his grave, and here was the Farmer shouting at us.

I fought down tears again. What was happening?

'Get out, we don't want you here!' The Baker cried.

Several other people from the back of the crowd began to shout at me, various choruses of 'Get out', 'Leave', 'We don't want you here'. The tears stung my eyes as more and more people joined in.

I was scared, so very scared. I had no idea what to do, how to protect my brothers and sisters, and how to stop the entire village from hating us.

I reached into my pocket and brought out Gwen, holding her carefully in my hand. Then, I turned and ran. My siblings got the message and they all followed me.

All, except Richard who was still rolled up in a ball. Robbie saw this and nudged him with his nose, until Richard uncurled and Tom helped him onto Robbie's back. The three of them ran behind me, Alexander still clinging to my skirt. Daniel and Clara were waddling along as best they could, still trying to get used to the fact they no longer had arms, only wings.

We all fled, ran away from the shouting and the screaming that followed us. I fought the sobs and the tears threatening to spill. I just kept moving.

I had to get them away, get them home, somewhere safe. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I had to do something. There was no sign of the faerie, he had just disappeared as though he had never been there in the first place.

By the time we got to the cottage, I was out of breath, and losing my battle with tears. I transferred Gwen to one hand, and flung the door open. Running inside, I placed Gwen down on the table, and Alexander let go on my skirt. I watched as two birds, a fox, a hedgehog and a fawn came running through the door. As soon as they were all inside, I slammed the door shut with as much force as I could muster.

All of them stared at me out of their animal eyes.

What had I done? What had they done?

How could that Faerie do this to us?

If I ever saw him again, I was going to kill him. I didn't care about consequences; I was going to kill him for what he had done.

The only way to break the spell he said was for me to not speak a word for a year.

A year.

An entire year.

How on earth was I going to manage that? I liked to talk, I talked far too much. This was going to be nearly impossible.

Nearly impossible, but not completely. Of course I was going to remain silent. They were my family; I would do anything for them. Including this. If it meant I had a year of hardship to break this curse, I would do it.

Seven pairs of eyes still stared at me, hoping I would know what to do.

I consciously kept my mouth closed. I couldn't say anything by accident. Part of me secretly had wanted that faerie to just keep my voice. That way, this year would be so much easier; I wouldn't even have to think about it.

But, he had given me my voice, so now I had to be very careful about what I did. Any small noise from me would result in the curse not being broken. And I couldn't do that, I would not fail.

We got all of about two minutes of silence before we heard it. My head snapped to the door. There was shouting and screaming and chanting, all of it telling us to leave the village.

That had been his final curse. He had cursed all the people of Rault to hate us, that was what he had meant when he had spat 'No one can stand you.' Just before he had left.

I knew they were under a spell, knew they had no choice in it.

But it didn't make it hurt any less.

These were the people who had always been a part of my life. The people who made up my home. And now, they hated me, enough to force me out of the village.

I wanted to run outside and beg for forgiveness. I wanted them to stop shouting. I wanted everything back the way it was that morning.

But I couldn't. I couldn't go back.

We heard them get closer and closer and closer. Richard curled back up into a ball again. Several of the others exchanged glances, and some of them were still examining their new bodies, trying to get to grips with how everything worked.

They were coming, and soon.

We had to leave. We had to get out. At least until the hate died down. I didn't want to think of what they might do while under a spell, it was too horrible.

I ran into our bedroom. My carpet bag was still propped against the door. It had only been half emptied. With everything that had happened since I got back home, I hadn't had time to unpack it, so many of my belongings from Milton were still packed up. I threw some other clothes in, nightgowns for me and the girls, and some of Clara and Gwen's under-things.

I sprinted back to the front door and placed the bag down. Then, picking up another old bag we possessed, I went into the boy's bedroom and began to throw some clothes for the boys in, one pairs of trousers each, one shirt, some under things and some nightclothes each. I also shoved in some blankets and other little things.

It didn't take very long, and before I knew it, there were three bags full of our stuff ready by the door. I strapped one of the bags over my shoulders and held the other two in my hands. I nodded to Alexander, the squirrel, who jumped from the table to the top of one of the bags. Richard was pushed onto Tom's back and I lifted up Gwen to perch her on my shoulder. Daniel and Clara stood behind me, ready to go.

I would have looked back on our little cottage. I would have glanced over it one last time savouring the memories, and becoming all sentimental about it.

But, we had no time.

The crowd of people, more like a mob, were almost outside our house. We had to leave, right then.

I checked one last time that I had all of them, and then opened the door, for what may have been the last time.

Sunlight filled my vision for a split second, then the mob came into view. All of their faces were fixed on me, in a horrid vicious expression. Some of them looked almost murderous. I didn't want to stay around long enough to find out if they felt as murderous as they looked.

I darted out of the house, watching as all my siblings followed me, and then shut the door firmly behind them.

The mob almost slowed down for a moment, but we didn't wait around. As soon as the door clicked shut, I sprinted as fast as I could around the side of the house, making for the back gate. It swung open with ease, and I ran.

I didn't look back, I couldn't.

I focused on the tree line of the forest directly ahead of me and ran straight for it. I could only hope my siblings were keeping up with me.

Behind us, jeering and shouting continued, and I tried to ignore it the best that I could. They were under a spell; they couldn't help themselves. And I tried, I really did. I tried to make it not bother me, tried to force the nasty and horrid things they said out of my mind. But some of it still hit me and hurt me.

I kept running. One foot in front of the other.

Eventually, the noise began to die down, as we got further and further away. We hit the tree line, and darted into the forest and out of sight of the village, and the villagers.

* * *

I walked for a good while, making sure that my siblings were still following me every so often. We were far away from the village and could no longer hear the yells and shouts of the villagers. In the silence of the forest, I tried to decided what we were going to do.

We had been forced out of our home, with nowhere to go. And just to top it all off, my siblings were now animals, and I had to stay silent for an entire year.

A whole year.

How on earth was I going to manage to do that? I could barely go an hour without speaking, let alone a year. This was almost an impossible task; one I wasn't sure I was completely up for. But I had to be, I had no choice in the matter. This was my family. I had to do this for them.

I kept walking, and the forest got thicker and thicker. I had no clue where we were going. I just had to get them all away from Rault, at least until the frenzy of whatever spell had been placed on the villagers had died down a bit.

I thought of maybe trying to get word to Blanche. She could maybe hide us all in the cave for a little while. But, the problem with that plan was that I needed to shout out to the birds. And I had a slight problem with shouting at that moment. I had tried to think of other ways to get the message to her, but I was almost certain that birds couldn't read.

So, we were stuck. And I was at a loss as to what to do.

We had just run. We hadn't even thought about staying and resisting them. We had just fled our home. The place where all of us were born, the place where Mother and Father had both died, the place that was dearest in the world to all of us.

And we had just abandoned it.

No, I had. I had made the choice, not them. I was the only human among us now, and I had made the choice to run away. This was my fault. If I just kept my mouth shut, if I had stopped them from going out for the competition, maybe if I had gone with them. I could have stopped them from taking from that faerie. Maybe I could have fought him right then and there before they were all bound up.

What if Father knew? If he could somehow see what had happened from where ever he was now. He would be so mad and disappointed in me. I had promised him I would look after them all, and now they were all cursed, and we were fleeing our home.

We got deeper and deeper into the forest, and I still had no clue where we were going. I considered just walking to the cave. Blanche may turn up at some point, and I could try and explain to her what happened. I knew she could read, so maybe I could write it in the dirt. But I had no idea how often she slept in that cave. I only saw her once every three months, and we possibly only stayed there because it was near the path between Rault and Milton. I had no clue if she was normally there, or if she even stayed in that area of the forest for long. In truth, I knew very little about Blanche, and now I couldn't speak, I had very little chance of finding anything else out about her.

I kept walking, animals at my feet, and birds a little way behind me. I could hear Clara trying to flap her wings, in a failed attempt at flight. Gwen was still clinging onto my shoulder, and Alexander had climbed his way from the bag in my hand up to my forearm. He squeaked something out, and Gwen came running down from my shoulder to my elbow to meet him. He took her in his paws, and held on in a sort of embrace. It looked so strange, a squirrel and a field mouse, but they were my siblings.

Alexander moved back down to the bag, still holding onto little Gwen. I continued to walk, listening to the bird song in the silence of the forest.

Birdsong. Last time I'd heard that, it was when Blanche and I ran away to the mysterious cottage.

Wait, maybe… maybe if Blanche couldn't help me, maybe Rose could. Rose lived in the forest, away from the world. Rose's cottage couldn't be that far away. She might help me, she did before. Her aunts wouldn't be thrilled, but if I could just get through to them, how desperate we were, and what had happened, they'd have to help, surely.

We should go to Rose, she could help. At least for one night. We just needed somewhere to stay for the night that was safe and dry. I needed a few hours to just think about what on earth we were going to do for the immediate future.

I just had to retrace the path I had taken from Rose's cottage to Rault just under a month ago. I could just about remember where to go.

Even if Rose, or her aunts, wouldn't let me stay, I could get her to just shout for Blanche, make our plight known to her. If we could somehow tell the birds, they could get the message to Blanche. She'd come and help. She had to. After everything we had been through, I knew Blanche would come through for me. There was no doubt in my mind, she'd would help.

My pace picked up. At least now I had a destination. I just had to hope that I could somehow get the message to Rose about what had happened. I could do it, I had no choice. This was my family, and I would be damned if I let anything else happen to them, anything at all. I'd already failed once; it was never happening again. I would break this curse on them, and get them back to normal. I just had to get them to safety first.

To the cottage in the woods.

* * *

We arrived a few hours later. It took longer than I had expected, but we were forced to go slower than when I had made the trip before, due to the rather irritating fact that my siblings were now animals, and had significantly smaller legs than I did. They toddled along as best they could. Daniel even occasionally tried to flap his new wings, but he never got very far off the ground. It looked very strange, a raven walking, not flying. He and Clara were the slowest walkers, but they were now built for flying, not walking, so I guessed it was no surprise.

When we finally could see the cottage through the trees, I almost wept with joy. We were here, safety at last. It looked exactly the same as I had last seen it, with only the small exception of there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. But, it was now the end of April, so the weather was significantly warm enough to not have a fire.

We'd had no food since that morning, and my belly was beginning to ache again. And I was so shaken up and emotional, I thought I was going to burst into tears as soon as soon as I saw Rose. I'd have to make sure they were silent tears though, thanks to this stupid curse.

I practically ran to the front door, all my brothers and sisters seemed to work out that this was where we were headed. I couldn't exactly tell them, and even if I could, I wasn't sure they'd be able to understand me in this form. I had heard some of them squeak and squawk at each other, so I guessed that they could all understand and speak to each other.

But just not me.

I couldn't interpret what they were saying, and I couldn't say anything back.

I was alone.

I reached the front door, eagerly hoping that Rose would be able to help all of us. I lifted my fist and pounded at the door, as loudly as I could.

Alexander hopped off the bag and landed just before the door. Gwen was still in his arms, but he let her down so she could scurry around. Tom and Robbie, or now a Fox and a Fawn, joined us in the doorway, Richard was still on Robbie's back. Daniel and Clara eventually caught up, and loitered behind me.

There was no response from the cottage. I heard nothing, not even some vague footsteps. I knocked on the door again, trying to make the sound louder.

We waited in silence. There was still nothing on the other side of the door.

Again, and again, I knocked, hoping that someone would here.

Still nothing.

I still knocked, over and over again.

Nothing.

Where was Rose? Why wasn't she answering the door?

I got more and more desperate. If she wasn't answering the door, I really had nowhere to turn.

The other began to catch on that whatever plan I tried, I'd failed. I had failed them. I had tried to get them somewhere safe, and I had failed them. I kept hitting the door, hope dwindling with each attempt.

She wasn't coming, she wasn't here. She wasn't going to help.

I swallowed the lump in my throat the best I could, I had failed.

My face fell towards the ground, where Alexander the squirrel was looking up at me with his large grey eyes. He knew I had failed, and I didn't know what to do. He probably felt as bad as I did with what happened, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Something flashed in the corner of my eye, brown and small. Gwen scurried across the wooden porch of the cottage, and under a small crack in the wood by the floor. I saw her go before my mind could work out what it had just seen. She just disappeared.

I fell to my knees almost instantly, trying to see where she went. But my head was too large to get my eye to be level with the ground. Alexander also noticed this, and tried to fit his head through the small gap in the wood, but to no avail.

I wanted to shout for her, to tell her to come back, but I couldn't. It was so frustrating not being able to speak, I hated it.

Alexander began to say something, but I couldn't understand a single sound. I wasn't fluent in animal, a skill all my siblings seemed to have grasped instantly. I tried to ignore the jealously creeping into my mind. They were cursed, they hadn't chosen to exclude me.

But I was excluded. I had to be silent, for them. It was all for them. And yet, they could still all communicate with each other, and I had been denied that.

Gwen still hadn't returned through the crack, and she wasn't responding with little squeaks. So, I stood up as fast as I was able, and wrenched the door open.

I didn't care that it wasn't my house, and that I really should just be walking in. But I had to make sure my baby sister was alright, I just had to. I pulled the door open, and almost ran inside.

Gwen was scurrying up a leg of the table, perfectly fine and safe.

But the rest of the cottage.

It was bare.

Empty.

All of the things that had filled that room; the vases, the rugs, the washing. It was all gone. All that remained was a bare table and some chairs. The room was dark, as it had been the last time I had seen it, but now it was covered in a thin layer of dust. It was uncleaned, uncared for, unlived in.

There was no one here. No sign of Rose, or her aunts.

It was definitely the same house, there was no doubt about that, but in a strange way it was not the same. A ghost house.

I walked towards the table where Gwen was now sat onto, and placed the bags I had been carrying down. Laying my hands on the dusty wood, Gwen ran into my palm.

I heard the rest of them scurry and waddle through the door and move around the room.

I turned around, holding onto the tiny field mouse in my hands. All six of them had moved through the doorway, and were now exploring the cottage they had found themselves in.

Passing Gwen to Alexander, I looked around the room, trying to find anything familiar. Or at least some clue as to where Rose was.

There was nothing. And it appeared like there had been nothing for a little while.

I took the small staircase at the back right hand side of the cottage, and went to look around upstairs. I hadn't been up there before, only staying in the basement before. I found two rooms; one to the left and one to the right. The one to the left was small, and contained one single bed, no linens or sheets on it. Nothing else lay on the floor, or by the window. Just an empty room with a bed.

The room on the other side was almost identical, although much bigger. This time, three unmade beds lay side by side.

One for each of Rose's aunts.

This must have been their room. Which would make the smaller one Rose's.

They had all just gone, left, without a trace.

Disappeared.

I carefully closed the doors to both rooms, and made my way back down stairs, to where all my siblings still appeared to be squeaking at each other in their own animalistic language. I pulled back a chair and sat in it. Alexander, Daniel and Richard turned to look at me first, the inquisitive expression on their faces obvious.

They wanted to know why we were here, and how I knew about this place.

One by one, the rest of my siblings turned to face me, all of them looking curious.

I glanced around quickly for a piece of paper and a pencil, but there was nothing. In the end, I pointed my finger out before me, and drew words in the dusty surface of the table.

 _We'll be safe here. For now._ I wrote.

There was no point trying to go anywhere else today. We were all exhausted. It was far too late to go back into the forest and hope we could find somewhere else to spend the night. Maybe Rose might be back tomorrow, I was sure she wouldn't mind too much for us to spend one night in the empty cottage.

Alexander clambered up the back of the chair I was sat on. He jumped onto the table, landing next to the writing. His head tilted to one side whilst he read what was written, before turning back to me and nodding his little furry head slowly.

Daniel tried to flap his wings in order to get high enough to see what was written in the dust. He tried, and failed. He got about four inches off the ground before plummeting back down to the ground, landing beak first. Clara used her long neck to grab him and pull him upright again. He shook himself off, relatively unhurt. It looked very odd, a bird who couldn't fly. But, he had only been a bird for a few hours, he couldn't be expected to know everything just yet.

The room in the cottage got darker and darker, as the sun began to set behind the grey clouds in the distance. My siblings had a little wander around the cottage, curious to see where exactly they were. It got progressively blacker, until I was forced to see if I could find any candles. Luckily, there was a small drawer in the kitchen that hadn't been emptied of candles and cutlery and other little things.

I found small twigs outside the cottage, and a few larger logs, and placed them in the fire place, before lighting them with a small candle. The fire erupted from the wood, spilling much needed light into the dark room. I lit some more candles in a small attempt of trying to ensure we could see something for the next hour or two.

Finally, the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and darkness fell.

It lasted all of about two seconds, before light filled the room.

All seven of my siblings began to glow. Small ribbons of golden light exploded around them, wrapping them up and consuming them. I watched in horror as all of them became golden balls of light once again. Then, all of a sudden, the light disappeared.

There before me, was all my brothers and sister. Completely human.

They were all human again.

They were all back.

Tears clouded the edges of my vision, as I beheld them; before I fell to my knees before them, collapsing under the pressure of the day.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven.**

They were all back to normal.

All of my siblings, stood right there in front of me.

Alexander, with his hair still a little too long. Daniel patted himself up and down, making sure that he wasn't just imagining it. Clara was crying quietly, unable to believe it. Richard had grabbed a hold of Robbie, hugging him tightly. Tom started laughing in surprise, and Gwen ran at me, launching into me.

I grabbed my baby sister and held on tight, as she squealed into my ear.

'Marion! We're back!' She cried.

The wooden floor was hard against my knees, as I held onto her. I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again.

'Arry?' She asked when I didn't respond.

I wanted to. I wanted to laugh that they were back, and scream in frustration, and curse that faerie to high hell.

But I couldn't.

The spell was not broken.

I was not free.

 _'_ _By day, you shall remain in this form, but by night, you will become human again.'_ He had said.

That was their curse. They would only be human for the few hours it was night. Come the dawn, they would be back to being animals.

And so, I had to remain silent.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I looked up from Gwen's shoulder, to see Alexander bent over me.

'Arry.' He started.

I glared at him.

How had he let this happen? How had I let this happen?

They had all gone off for springbloom, he had been in charge.

I let go of Gwen, and stood, facing him head on. His eyes were sad and apologetic, but I didn't care. I wanted answers, I needed to know exactly what had happened and how we had ended up in this sorry situation.

I raised my eyebrow at him, and he seemed to get the message.

'It all happened rather quickly.' He said quietly. 'One minute we were wandering around the garden at the manor house, the next we were all bound up and we couldn't move. He just appeared, and then we were dragged to the square.'

I raised my eyebrow higher, knowing that wasn't the full story.

'We were playing the game! We found a rose garden full of perfect flowers, of course we were going to pick one!' He shouted.

I knew I really shouldn't blame them for simply playing the game. But something didn't settle right.

I walked to the table, and placed my finger in the dust again. Moving it slowly, I wrote words in the dust.

 _Rose garden?_

I had worked at that manor for three years. I knew every single corner of the house, inside and out. And I had never, ever, once heard of a rose garden anywhere near the manor.

Ella had moved out of the manor house just before her marriage, and no one else had moved in since. She technically still owned it, due to her father's will.

So, how on earth had a Rose garden just sprouted up next to the manor? It made no sense.

Alexander looked at the writing and tilted his head in confusion.

'Yes, the rose garden, just off to the right, out the back of the house. It was in full bloom, and was very neat.'

That made no sense.

 _But there is no Rose Garden at the manor._ I wrote.

Alexander's face went white. As did Daniel's and Clara's.

'There isn't, is there?' Daniel said quietly. Clara nodded next to him. Both of them had worked at the manor, however briefly. They knew there wasn't a Rose garden.

'But there was one right there!' Clara breathed. 'We were there, just this afternoon.'

Alexander nodded.

'It was his enchanted Rose Garden, wasn't it?' He whispered.

It made sense, that the faerie owned that garden, and that my siblings had just accidentally wandered in there during the game. Annabel had briefly mentioned the fact that someone was staying in the manor house. She had even warned me it might be a faerie.

So, she was right. That evil faerie had been staying in the abandoned manor house, secretly growing his garden, or casting spells, or whatever faeries did, and somehow, my family had gotten tangled up in it.

I flopped into the chair next to me, trying to wrap my head around what exactly had happened earlier.

'Has the spell been broken?' Robbie asked, his little voice wobbling a bit. 'I don't like being a deer.'

I shook my head slowly.

Alexander walked round, and knelt before him.

'No Robbie, it's not broken. Remember he said that we would be humans at night, and animals by day.'

'But I don't want to be an animal anymore!' Robbie cried. 'It's hard walking on four legs. I like my hands!'

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. I hated this as much as everyone else did, and we had no way to change it.

Alexander pulled Robbie into a hug, and said softly in his ear.

'I know. It's hard. But it won't be for long. Arry's going to break the spell for us, right Arry?'

Robbie's gaze fell on me, questioningly.

He was so young and small, only nine years old, nearly ten. And already, he had been orphaned and cursed. I was going to be damned if I let a single other bad thing happen to him.

I nodded vigorously, attempting to smile for him, but I couldn't. I was still annoyed and upset and frustrated. I was so frustrated. So I just nodded, a grim determination settling within me.

I was going to do this for them, not matter how much I hated it.

I had made a promise to my father to look after all of them, and I had failed. I had let this happen to them. So I was going to fight it, every day for an entire year. I was never going to let anything happen to them again. It didn't matter how hard it was going to be. I didn't care. I was going to break this curse, nothing was going to stop me.

'I'm hungry.' Daniel said rather loudly, startling us all. 'Is there any food here?'

I looked around, as did all of my siblings. I had no idea if Rose had left any food in the cottage. There was still no clue as to why she had vanished, or where she had gone. I hoped she was alright. Although, it had been her birthday recently, she had mentioned it a few times. And her aunts seemed oddly paranoid about that day. Maybe, if they had gotten past that day, Rose might have been finally allowed out to see the world, the real world. She deserved to see it.

Alexander, Daniel and Richard began to look through the cupboards in the kitchen area. Clara checked in some of the chests that were laying around the room, and Gwen, Tom and Robbie sat on the chairs near the fireplace, talking quietly about what had happened today. Gwen was rather jealous of Robbie's deer form; she said she liked his pretty fur. This of course made Robbie hate his animal form even more, he didn't want to be pretty.

I walked straight up to the largest cupboard, right at the back, and opened it firmly. There before me, was the passage to the basement; where I had hidden before. I grabbed one of the candles and clambered inside, down the winding stairs.

It was just as dark and cold as I remembered. Most of the trunks and boxes had gone, but a few remained. That at least implied that Rose and her aunts didn't leave in a hurry; they weren't fleeing. They'd had time to pack, so at least they were safe. Most of our belongings were still in our little cottage, I had only had time to grab some clothes and run.

Richard followed me down to the basement, and looked around in amazement.

'What is this?' He asked.

I turned around to face him, knowing full well I couldn't answer his question.

I just stared at him in silence, trying to think of some way to communicate with him, without using words.

'Sorry, I didn't think.' He said, looking very apologetic.

I moved my hand in a sort of wave, trying to say 'It's fine' and I could only hope he got the message. It was going to take a long time to adjust to my new life. I needed to think of a way to communicate, I couldn't get through an entire year without being able to somehow getting my messages across. But that was a problem for another time. We needed to get through the night first.

I began to open the boxes and trunks, looking for anything we could use. We needed food, and probably sheets or something to make some beds for tonight. I found some old pieces of fabric, some large enough to pass for blankets or sheets. I gathered them up in my arms, and passed some to Richard, who seemed to understand what I was looking for, and began searching as well. When both of our arms were full of cloth, and the candle was spluttering out, we made our way back up to the kitchen.

The room was warm, far warmer than the basement had been. The fire was now roaring and candles lit up the room. Alexander, Daniel and Clara had found some bread in a cupboard which hadn't gone stale, and some hard cheese, wrapped up in cloth.

They had also found a few plates and cups, not enough for one each, but enough to get started on.

They all busied themselves trying to divide up the small amount of food we had, chatting amongst themselves, arguing to and fro as to which piece was obviously the biggest, and who should get it.

And I couldn't join in.

I stood on the edge of the kitchen, neglected, unable to join in. They weren't exactly cheerful, but they had a sense of comradery about them, how they were all in this together.

I wasn't.

I wasn't the same as my brothers and sisters.

I had to remain silent, for them; it was all for them. And I couldn't join in their conversations, their laughter, their arguments.

I was alone. All alone.

It wasn't their fault. I knew that, of course I knew that. They hadn't asked to be cursed, they had no idea what they were doing when they picked that flower. And I shouldn't blame them for trying to make the best out of a horrid situation.

But by making the best out of it for them, they had excluded me. Left me on the outside. I might as well have been out in the dark night, looking in through the window of the cottage, watching the family who lived there, wishing I was part of it.

Although we were the same family in name, it didn't feel like it any more. They were all together, and I was just me. An outsider who wanted to be in.

And I could just speak, join in. It wouldn't be so hard to open my mouth, and just say something. But then, my family would never be free of the curse, never. And they would all hate me for it, resent me. They might not act like it, but they would, deep down. No, a year of hardship was worth it, for them. I just had to keep a hold of my emotions, not let the isolation get to me.

It was only for a year; temporary, short lived. It would be finished in a year. I would be able to shout and scream and laugh and cry and… just speak. I'd only been silent for a few hours, but I already missed the ability to just speak. After this was all over, I was never going to take it for granted, never ever again.

My siblings finished arguing finally, and Clara set the table. We all scrambled around it, grabbing the closest piece of bread, and consuming it quickly. All of us had figured out a long time ago that if you didn't grab food quickly, it was gone. And after the horrid day we'd had, none of us wanted to miss out.

It was done before I knew it. None of us were full, but the aching pain in our bellies had abated slightly. Alexander took charge, and set us all to work trying to make make-shift beds out of the sheets that Richard and I had found.

We made up the four beds upstairs, and used the rest of the sheets to make small hammocks for the other ones to sleep in. I knew from experience that they were vastly more comfortable to sleep in than just lying on the floor. As there were three girls; myself, Clara and Gwen, we shared the larger room. Richard wanted to be left alone, so he got the single bed in Rose's old room. Which left Alexander, Daniel, Tom and Robbie to sleep in the hammocks we had constructed.

We blew the candles out, let the fire die down a little, and then headed off to bed. I had remembered to throw into the bags some nightclothes for everyone, and at least one change of normal clothes. I wasn't quite sure how the curse worked with clothes, but all of them had returned to their human form in the same clothes they had been cursed in. I just had to hope that somehow the magic that transformed them, transformed their clothes too. We couldn't afford to lose them.

I tucked Gwen into bed, and gave her a brief kiss on the forehead. She was exhausted. We all were. Her little eyes were shut only seconds after I pulled away. Clara climbed into the bed next to me, pulling the covers up around her tightly against the cold.

'What do we do now?' She asked me.

I only shrugged. I honestly didn't know what we were going to do. But I needed rest and time to think about the plan for the next few days. We couldn't live like this indefinitely. We needed food and water, and somehow, we needed to earn money. Although, with all of them now being animals, that was going to be slightly hard to manage. And the fact I couldn't speak didn't really help my own employment prospects.

I climbed into the last remaining bed.

'We're really sorry Arry. We didn't mean to end up like this.' Clara whispered.

Tears stung the edges of my eyes.

'And I know it's a lot to ask, to break this curse. But, we'll help you, we'll always help you.'

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

'I never said thank you, did I?' She said.

I turned to face her, looking over at her bed.

'For doing this for us. I can't imagine it, not talking. I know we're annoying and frustrating at times, but we love you, and it will all be over soon, right?'

I nodded my head slowly, wishing I could believe her. I wanted to think it was all going to be over soon, but a year was not a short amount of time. I was already sick of the silence, and it had only been a few hours. But, she was trying her best to cheer me up; I couldn't ask for more.

Clara gave me a sleepy smile, before rolling over and dozing off.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling of the cottage, at the painted wooden beams above me.

I hated this. I really did.

My siblings might be able to live with being animals for a year, might even look on it like some grand adventure. Particularly the younger ones, who I had overheard earlier talking about how they were now magic, and were like Faeries who could shapeshift.

I, on the other hand, looked at this for what it was.

A curse.

Silence, for a whole year. I wouldn't be able to speak or cry or laugh until next springbloom. I wouldn't be able to sing at yule time, wouldn't be able to giggle at the mayday dance, wouldn't be able to cry out if I fell over.

Utter silence.

The weight of it settled in me like a stone.

And father.

How I had failed him.

I had promised him, sworn on his deathbed; that I would take care of all of my family. I would protect them from harm, in whichever way it appeared. I always thought that would entail providing for them by working, or being at home to cook and look after them. I never thought it meant breaking a magical curse they had all been put under.

Where ever he was now, I knew he was disappointed in me. I had let him down, let them all down. This wouldn't have happened if he had been alive. He'd only been gone a matter of weeks, and already look at the mess we were in.

I had failed. Completely and utter failed. It was all my fault. I had broken my word, my promise to him.

The tears that stung my eyes began to fall slowly down my cheeks.

What had I done! How could I have let this happen?

My fault, my fault, my fault.

I was to blame, and this was my punishment. I deserved it. I had let them all down.

First, I had gone to Milton on my own, leaving them to fend for themselves, and that had gotten Father killed.

Then, I had let that Faerie curse them. I could have fought harder, somehow freed myself of his magic. But I hadn't.

The tears flowed and flowed and flowed. I couldn't sob, not without making a sound. So I just lay there, and cried. I cried for everything I had done, and how it had led us all to this.

Eventually, the tide of sleep washed over me, and I fell, tears still running down my cheeks.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

I awoke the next morning to something nibbling at my ear. My arm moved, trying to bat it away from me, before I heard a loud squeak.

My eyes flew open, and I turned my head, to see a tiny field mouse, staring at me with large black eyes.

Gwen.

Her paws were held in front of her, trembling slightly. Her head inclined a little, as if she was trying to ask a question, one I did not know.

I let her scurry into my hand, and placed her gently on the windowsill while I rolled out of bed, into the cold morning air of the room. I shivered, and wrapped the sheet around me, trying to retain the warmth.

Clara was still asleep. Or at least, her animal form slept. A very un-elegant swan was wrapped up in the sheets of the bed, long neck bent like an s, her beak was open, just a little. Her wings were flung open, she looked very un-composed.

I picked up Gwen again, and we made our way down stairs.

Some of the boys were awake, but now in their animal forms too. Tom remained asleep, a small fox curled up in a hammock. Richard hadn't yet made it downstairs, so I guessed he was still asleep. Alexander the squirrel was already practicing his balance, trying to get used to moving with a rather large furry tail behind him. Daniel was attempting to fly. His wings just never seemed to move fast enough to make him leave the ground. And Robbie was having a hard time trying to simply get out of the hammock. His thin legs trembled and shook as he tried to stand with his four legs, and jump out of the hammock, but to no avail. I placed Gwen down carefully on the table, and lifted Robbie out of the sheets. When he was firmly on the floor, he took a few tentative steps around, still trying to work out exactly how to use his extra legs.

I busied myself with trying to find something to make for breakfast. The boys had found a rather large bag of oats hidden away in a cupboard somewhere, enough to make some porridge for everyone for a little while, at least. I used the last of the water we had left in a jug and found an old pot in the basement. I started to pour enough oats to feed all eight of us, as I was used to, until I felt something nudging against my leg. I turned to find Alexander pulling on my nightgown skirt, as if he was trying to tell me something.

I put the oats down on the table, and turned to face him. He squeaked at me, moving his arms as he did. He was trying to tell me something, something I could not understand.

After about two minutes of this charade, he gave up and clambered onto the table, and found an untouched dusty space.

Then, carefully, he lowered his paws and started to write something, tiny and small, in the dust.

 _Porridge._ He wrote, and then crossed it out with a dramatic swing of his tail.

I was very confused. I shrugged at him, trying to convey my confusion.

He shook his head, and went back to writing.

 _Acorns._

And then it hit me. He didn't want porridge. He didn't want human food. Of course he didn't, he was now an animal, they couldn't eat normal human food. He should be eating nuts and berries, like squirrels were supposed to.

With a sigh, I poured most of the oats back into the bag, and left only a little out for me. Well, a little in regards to how much I put back. I actually had left myself a rather large portion for only one person. After the day I'd had yesterday, I thought I deserved a little more food than I was used to. Also, if there was only me to feed, then this bag of oats would go an awful lot further than I was expecting it to go. So, I saw no harm in me eating a little extra.

I found an old pot and began to heat up some water over the small fire that had nearly burned out. I threw an extra couple of twigs and sticks to give it a little more life, and waited for the fire to catch, and hooked a pot over the metal rod above the fire. The water boiled slowly, and I sat and watched as my brothers and Gwen began to try and get used to their animal forms again.

Alexander still struggled a little with keeping his rather large bushy tail off the ground, and had a rather annoying habit of stepping on it from time to time. Daniel still hadn't quite got the idea with his wings just yet, but made a commendable effort in trying to learn how to fly. He could get up off the ground for a few seconds at a time, but not really get any height or distance before falling back to the ground.

Robbie and Tom were very quickly getting the hang of walking on four legs, or at least much faster than Daniel was taking to flight. Tom in particular had worked out how to run, jump and climb on his four legs. He ran around the room, his burnt orange fur standing out against the dark browns of the wood and stone.

It still took me by surprise a little. I knew my brothers and sisters were now animals, but I couldn't help but not recognise them for a fraction of a second. Sometimes I still jumped when I saw the tiny field mouse scurry towards me. It took me a few moments to work out it was Gwen, and not just some wild animal. This curse would certainly take some getting used to.

The water boiled through, and I added the oats, made the porridge and ate it quickly. Richard emerged from his room, and squeaked at the rest of them to help him down, or at least I think that is what he said, I couldn't understand him. Alexander pointed to him, and then to me, and I went and retrieved him from the top of the stairs, and carried him down to the main room.

Only Clara was left still asleep, and the rest of them began to get restless and bored. Robbie and Tom started to scratch at the door. I guessed they were trying to get outside, and I wasn't sure if I should let them. Last time I had let them wander outside by themselves, they had all been dragged back bound up and then they were cursed. I wasn't ready to let them go. Not if there was the slightest chance of something else happening to them.

I shook my head at them, and they had the nerve to look disappointed. They tried scratching more and more, and in the end, I lifted them up and moved them away from the door, hoping they would get the message. Tom only scrambled back to the door as fast as he could, and began trying to open the door.

I bit my lip, and went to move Tom away from the door again. He struggled when I picked him up, writhing and shaking in my arms. I placed him firmly down on the ground, stared him in the eye and shook my head. He stared back at me, pleading with his eyes to let him go outside. But I wasn't backing down. He whined a little and hung his head.

I turned around for all of three seconds to clear up the cooking pot, and Tom and Robbie were back at the door, trying to get out. I was about to groan at them, but remembered my frustrating, irritating, damned silence. Biting the inside of my cheek and rolling my eyes in frustration, I stomped over to the door and stood in front of it. Both of them looked up slowly to me, and I refused to break their stare. I was not letting them go outside, I couldn't. Not after what happened yesterday. I just couldn't.

There was a small tug on the bottom of my nightgown. I glanced down to see Alexander pulling on my hem, trying to get my attention. He gestured to the door and then placed his tiny paw on his stomach, rubbing it gently.

He was hungry.

So was everyone else.

Even though I knew they couldn't eat human food, and that they wanted grass and nuts and whatever else they were supposed to eat; I hadn't given them any, and locked them inside.

A stab of remorse went through me. How could I have been so blind? I still didn't want them to go outside, not unless I was watching them like a hawk. But I knew my family, and they would be running off everywhere within a matter of seconds. The little ones in particular loved to play. I couldn't trust them not to run off, especially since I couldn't communicate with them.

But Alexander continued to stare at me, hand on stomach. Tom and Robbie also had pleading in their eyes. I sighed.

Maybe if I went outside to look for food for them and left them inside. But I knew nothing about what they would like to eat now. Squirrels eat nuts and acorns, and I thought birds tended to eat berries and things like that. But as for the rest of them…

I had no clue how to look after any of them. I was completely unprepared for this. I couldn't let them starve, not after I promised my father.

I was torn. On one hand, I didn't want to ever let them out of my sight again. I needed to know exactly where they all were, and make sure they didn't get taken. But, they needed to eat, and I couldn't keep them under house arrest forever. They would all hate me, and go all day without any food.

They continued to plead at me with their eyes, and I eventually had to break their stare to think.

They needed food, and I didn't know what to get them. They also couldn't stay cooped up inside all the time, it would drive both me and all of them insane.

I sighed. I knew what I had to do, even though I didn't like it one tiny bit.

Begrudgingly, I walked to the door, lifted the latch slowly, and pushed it open.

All of the boys were out of the door like lightning. Gwen tried to scurry down off the table, but struggled a little with the height of it. Before I helped her down, I gestured to her to see what I was writing in the dust in the corner of the table.

 _Tell them to be back at sundown. No excuses._

She nodded, and I let her run into my hand, and placed her carefully on the floor, and then she too was gone.

I looked back to what I had written. I had nearly covered the table in writing, and I was fast running out of space in the dust to communicate with. I needed some paper and a pencil if I was going to get through the entire year without being able to speak. Or at least I needed another alternative. I didn't seem to be getting anywhere with hand gestures either.

But, that was not the priority right then. I had a year to figure it out. At that moment, I needed to worry about finding water and food, and working out how we were going to live now that we had fled the village.

The cottage had actually been fairly convenient for our use. I just wished I knew what had happened to Rose. Why was she not here?

Another question for another time. Water and food.

I followed my siblings out of the door, and had a look around outside the cottage. The sun had just begun to warm up the air, but it was still a little crisp. Around the cottage, was worn down grass, covered in fallen leaves and twigs from the trees above. Rose and her aunts had clearly worn down the path that went all around the cottage, and so I followed it. Mercifully, at the end, there was a water pump attached to the back of the house. I almost jumped for joy. We had a supply of water, I didn't need to go in search of it every morning. I ran back inside and found a jug that I could fill.

By the time I was about to go out the door again, a rather large White Swan appeared at the top of the stairs, hissing and emitting a sound that reminded me of a sort of honk, like a sort of muffled bugle. I had never really listened to the sound of swans, but apparently that was how they sounded.

She but a tentative webbed foot on the stair, before lowering her weight carefully onto it. Her wings were splayed out, as if she was trying to use them to balance. Her neck also seemed to be swaying a little, her neck muscles not quite stable enough yet to support such a suddenly long neck.

I placed the jug down on the table, and walked up the stairs. She stopped moving and I raised my eyebrow at her in question.

Clara's head moved in what I think was a nod, and so I lifted her up in my arms; with a great amount of difficulty.

I thought lifting a sixteen-year old girl would be harder than lifting a swan, but I was sorely mistaken.

She wriggled and squirmed in my arms, and her wings had a rather annoying habit of hitting me in the back of my head.

However, we eventually made it downstairs in one piece, and I set her down, before pointing to the writing I had placed on the table, about being back for sundown. Her long neck extended as she glanced at it, then nodded and took off into the forest.

I decided in that moment, if we were going to stay there, Richard, Clara and Gwen needed to work out how to get up and down those stairs in animal form. I was not going to be carrying them up and down every day. If only I was Isabelle, she would have already invented something to lift them to the first floor. Even with my mechanics' lessons from her, I didn't have the knack for inventing like she did.

I hadn't seen her in a month. I wondered how she was doing now, undoubtedly still with her head in a book. I hoped she had found someone else she could talk to. It was nearly always me and her, and on occasion; Amelia. But the two of them never seemed as close with each other.

She would be fine, she was Isabelle. She wouldn't let anything stop her from doing what she wanted to do.

I took the jug from the table, and walked to the water pump quickly. I had a lot of sorting out to do that day if we were going to be staying in that cottage for the foreseeable future. There was a lot to do.

* * *

The day passed in a bit of a blur. Once I had found water, I looked around for food, and found that just a little way into the forest, there was a small vegetable patch, undoubtedly Rose's, which still had carrots and turnips and parsnips growing under the soil. Paired with the oats we had found; we were going to be alright for food for a considerable time.

I cleaned up the cottage as much as I was able. Every instinct I had been taught as a housemaid screamed at me to dust down the surfaces, but I didn't. Writing in the dust had been my main form of communication with my brothers and sisters, and I couldn't afford to lose it.

Instead, I distracted myself with finding as much fire wood as I was able. Twigs, sticks logs and dried grass were all put on the pile I made just inside the door of the cottage. I had no idea how long we'd be staying here, or what we were going to do, so I thought it best to be prepared.

Eventually the sun began to set in the distance, spilling golden light onto the tops of the trees surrounding the clearing.

And, just like I'd asked them too, one by one, my siblings returned.

A squirrel, a raven, a swan, a hedgehog, a fox, a fawn and a tiny field mouse; all made their way through the door into the room.

I had lit the fire, knowing that we would be awake past sunset. I needed to talk to them. Well, not talk, but communicate with them.

I was rather impressed when Daniel and Clara managed to fly up to the door. Both of them had clearly spent the day learning how to use their new wings. Daniel in particular held his feathered head very high as he paraded around the room. I only rolled my eyes at him, before patting him gently on the head in congratulations.

Once again, just like the night before, the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and the animals before me began to glow in golden light.

In a matter of seconds, they had all returned to normal, still wearing their nightclothes from the previous night.

Most of them were smiling this time, not one tear among them. Alexander was the only one who still didn't look completely happy.

'Arry, did you see! Daniel can fly!' Robbie shouted at me.

I nodded, smiling at him.

'I can too, you know!' Clara told him, looking mockingly put out.

'Yes, but you're a swan. You're too big to fly through the trees like Daniel can!' He replied.

Clara looked at him in fake shock.

'Are you, Robert Brown, saying that I am fat?' She said, in the most over the top voice I had ever heard her imitate.

'Maybe a little bit.' He said quietly, before squealing a little, and running behind Alexander, as Clara chased him around the house, telling him to take it back.

Gwen of course didn't like being left out, and began taunting Clara too, leading to her also squealing and running.

Daniel looked to me, then to the pot of oats I had prepared.

'I'll make the dinner; you look like you could use a rest.' He told me, with a small smile.

I tried to convey my thanks by placing my hand on my chest and tilting my head slightly. He chuckled a bit, which I guessed meant he got the message.

Tom and Richard were talking quietly in the corner of the room amongst themselves, mainly about what they had done that day. I took a deep breath and walked up to Alexander, who had taken a seat by fire, and was now staring at the flames. He didn't react when I placed my hand gently on his shoulder. He slowly looked up to me, and I could tell something was troubling him. Inclining my head, I invited him to come outside with me. He slowly rose from the chair and followed me outside. I took a small candle in a lantern I had found in one of the trunks in the basement.

Outside was dark, but I led him to the vegetable patch.

I had my reasons. Earlier that day, I found a rather sturdy pointy stick which I found I could write words with in soft earth. And out there, there was soft earth, and minimal chance that one of our siblings would interrupt us.

We arrived, and I set the lantern down on the ground and turned to face Alexander. His head was hung low, forcing his curls to fall over his eyes.

I raised my eyebrow in question of what was wrong. He took a few moments to look up at me, but when he did; the emotion in them hit me like a blow.

'What have I done Arry?' He said quietly. 'This is my fault.' His voice broke on the last sentence.

I wanted to shake my head and tell him that wasn't true, but something deep down in me wouldn't let me.

He had been left in charge of all of them when they were cursed. It had been him who had failed to protect them. And I knew, of course I knew; that I really shouldn't be blaming him for the faerie's crimes. But some small part of me did.

But he was scared and hurting and still grieving; so I shook my head softly, and gave him a sad smile.

'It is. It's all my fault. If we hadn't gone to that stupid garden!' He cried. I could see the tears collecting in his eyes.

'I'm so sorry, you have no idea how sorry I am about this.' He said, blinking the water away.

I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around him. He was my little brother, and he was hurting. I needed to make sure he was alright. That was my duty as an older sister, to take care of all my siblings; even those who thought they were all grown up and didn't need looking after anymore. But Alexander did. He needed a shoulder to cry on.

And so, holding onto me tightly, he let the tears fall, and the sobs wrack his chest.

I just held on, it was all I could do, just hold on.

He eventually calmed down, and I turned my attention to the reason I wanted to talk to him. I picked up the stick, and began to write; carving the words into the earth.

 _Can you speak to animals?_

Alexander looked at me confused.

'How so?' He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. I couldn't talk.

'Oh, sorry. We can all talk to each other when we're in that form.' He said.

I had already guessed that much.

 _Others?_ I wrote.

'Do you mean other animals or are they,' He said, gesturing to the cottage behind us,' the others?'

I held up one finger to tell him I meant the former.

'No.' He told me, shaking his head slightly. 'It's only us. Or at least I think it is.'

Nodding slightly, I began to write in the earth again.

 _Shout 'Blanche'._

My brother looked at me with such confusion. I just nodded, hoping he would actually do it.

'Whose Blanche?' He asked. I simply pointed to the word again, and gestured for him to shout.

'If I do, will you tell me why?'

I rolled my eyes at him and nodded.

Shrugging his shoulders, he tilted his head up and shouted

'Blanche! Blanche?'

I was already writing more thing by the time he looked down.

 _Marion needs your help. Rose's cottage._

Alexander glanced down to the words that were written there, and repeated them aloud.

I sighed in relief. Hopefully the birds would deliver our message to her. She had to come; she had to.

And so, I watched as Alexander shouted into the night, and hoped with all my heart that she heard it.

* * *

We eventually settled into a routine of our new lives. Several days passed, and I let my siblings out of the cottage every morning, and they would always return just before sunset. I spent my days tidying up the cottage, and tending to the vegetable patch I had found. I also discovered a little orchard nearby which I frequently picked apples from.

Every night, my siblings would return with stories about their days. How they were mastering flight, or learning how to walk on four legs, or could now climb trees. I sat and listened to them, unable to tell them about my day.

I was getting more and more frustrated with the silence. I hated it, I truly did. I wanted it to be over. I thought it would get easier with time, but it didn't. I wanted to scream and shout about how much it annoyed me not being able to ask for a glass of water, or call to my siblings if I needed help with something.

I hated it.

And I hated that faerie.

I was really going to kill him if I ever saw him again.

At night, my dreams would be filled with his voice, rattling around my head, the moment they all were cursed.

However, there was always something about his voice I couldn't quite place my finger on.

 _I curse you_

 _I curse you Lord Ad….._

Those words echoed around my head again and again and again. I couldn't figure out if I'd ever heard of a Lord Ad, or anyone who sounded vaguely similar. I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, trying to desperately remember why the Faerie's voice had sounded so familiar.

But alas, nothing. It annoyed me to no end.

I had gone through the things I had brought with me. I hadn't realised in the panic of fleeing Rault, what exactly I had put in the bag. Or what I hadn't taken out of it.

In the bottom of my carpet bag, along with the nightgowns and one single day dress each for the girls, I had accidentally left my emerald green ball gown in the bottom of the bag. I had simply never taken it out since Milton. So, there it was, staring up at me from the bottom of the bag.

But what was on top of it…

On top was that mysterious ring I had found on my bedroom floor. The bronze one with the small amethyst. It had sat in the bottom of my bag all this time. I still hadn't figured out why it was on my bedroom floor in the first place, or why it had fit my finger.

There were just too many things that had happened in my life recently that didn't add up. And I was at a complete loss as to why they were happening.

I tried, I truly tried to remember something, but I kept getting little dizzying spell which put a stop to my thoughts.

And so, after several days, almost a week, I just gave up. I learned to accept I was never going to get the answers. I learned to accept that this was my new life; silent and steadfast for the rest of the year, until the curse was broken.

But that all came crashing down one day.

I was sat in the main room of the cottage, about a week after we had fled, enjoying a well-deserved cup of water; when I heard it.

A loud hissing noise followed by a sort of muffled bugle sound. I knew that sound. It filled the air, echoing around the forest.

I jumped to my feet. That was the exact noise Clara made while she was a swan.

She was crying out for help.

She was screaming.

My heart stopped.

I dropped the cup of water, not caring as it splattered all around me. I took off as fast as my legs would take me. Pushing open the door, I scrambled outside and ran towards the sound.

My breath came in short pants, and my mind went wild with worry. I wanted with all my heart to shout up to her, to tell her I was coming, but I couldn't.

And so, I ran.

I sprinted as fast as I could, dodging trees and fallen branches, determined to get to her.

Eventually I round the corner to the small lake we had discovered lay a little down the track. I knew Clara like to swim there, it was something she could actually do in her new form.

But to my horror, I didn't see Clara first.

A group of men stood on the bank of the lake, a crossbow in hand.

Aiming at the sky.

To where a beautiful white swan was weaving in and out of the trees as best she could.

Hunters.

They were going to kill her.

I didn't waste a second.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me; straight at the hunting party.

None of them turned around, all to focused on the kill.

Flinging my arms out, I barrelled into the side of the one nearest to me, knocking him off his balance. He swore at the sudden impact and fell into the next one, who teetered a little before correcting himself.

But my that point, I was already standing in front of all of them, my arms out as wide as I could get them.

That's when my gaze fell on the third man, stood at the end of the line.

His long black hair was combed immaculately, not a hair out of place. His handsome features contorted as they took me in. His forest green eyes betrayed shock and surprise. His clothes were clean and pristine, a brown coat, black tunic and a billowing white shirt. Rich and Highborn.

I knew that face.

Knew those eyes.

Knew who was stood right in front of me, pointing a crossbow at me sister.

'Marion?' Sir James Thorne asked.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen.**

My mouth fell open with shock.

James?

James was here?

A million questions flew through my head. Why? How? What?

He was here.

And aiming a crossbow at my sister.

In the few seconds it took me and James to comprehend what was going on, Clara had flown off out of sight, and out of danger.

James was still staring at me, his own face betraying the shock and confusion of seeing me.

'You know her?' The one I had barrelled into said, still brushing himself down.

James didn't take his eyes off me but nodded slowly. 'Yes, she's an old friend.' He told them quietly.

I began to lower my arms slightly, now that Clara was out of danger, not realising they were beginning to ache from keeping them up.

'What are you doing here?' James asked me in a soft voice.

I closed my mouth. I couldn't let a single word slip, no matter how much I wanted to. He looked confused, so confused.

I lowered my arms completely, and lifted my hand to my throat. Tapping my windpipe slightly, and shaking my head; I attempted to get across to him that I couldn't speak.

James' brow only furrowed more; he clearly didn't understand. I repeated the action, trying desperately to get across to him.

'What is she doing?' The second man said.

'No idea.' The first man replied.

I recognised that man, the one I had run into. There was something about him that made me think I had seen him before.

'Marion, it alright, you can tell us.' James told me.

I looked back to him, still gesturing to my throat. His eyes went wide in realisation.

'Can you speak?' He asked gently.

I shook my head vigorously.

'She's mute?' the second man said.

'You can't be. You were talking all the time to Ella!' The first man said.

Then it hit me; he was at Ella's wedding, and the ball. I couldn't quite remember his name, but he had been one of Christopher's friends. He'd also been at the christening of Jonathan too.

'Why can't you speak? Did something happen to you?' James asked.

I bit my lip, trying to think of a way to describe what had happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a patch of wet earth on the shore of the small lake.

I turned and made my way towards it. All three men followed, exchanging confused looks between them. Kneeling down next to the soft earth, I pointed a finger, and pressed it into the ground.

Using it, not really caring how dirty my hand got. I wrote one word in the wet earth.

 _CURSED_.

The other two men recoiled a bit when they read it. But James didn't. His head snapped to me, and hand found its way to my shoulder.

'Cursed how? What happened? Are you alright?' His forest green eyes looked genuinely concerned for me.

There was no way I could explain everything by writing it in the wet earth. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

'Now James come on. Are we actually going to get to do some hunting today or not, now that your friend frightened off that swan?' The first man said.

I whirled around to face him, clenching my teeth tight. He was not about to go and try and shoot down my little sister again. I walked right up to him, glaring at him. He stepped back in surprise.

'What is she doing?' He asked, nervously.

It was my job to protect my family. I was not letting him get near any of them. Pointing to the knife he had strapped to his belt, I shook my head.

'Marion, what's the matter?' James asked.

'Do you not like hunting? Well, where do you think your food comes from?' The man said, in a slightly mocking tone

Without thinking, my hand was in the air, and then it was across his face.

He yelped from the impact, stumbling back a little. The other man went to his side, as the man I had just hit held the side of his face, a nice red mark beginning to show.

I had slapped him.

'Marion!' James cried. I turned on him, he sounded annoyed. But I didn't care. I walked right up to him and reached for his crossbow. His arm moved back a little, trying to keep it from my grasp; but I managed to get a hold of the arrow that was perched on top. I took it and walked back over to the damp patch of earth. Only James followed me this time.

The other two were talking quietly about how I was insane. I didn't care.

Both me and James crouched in the dirt. Using the end of the arrow like a pencil, I began to write again.

 _Wait until sunset. Answers._

I looked up at the sky. It wasn't long until sunset, maybe another hour or so. Lowering my eyes to meet James stare, I could only hope that he would understand. He had to. He might be the only familiar face who might help me I was going to see in a long time.

If only I could get him to give a message to Ella. She would help. Ella would keep us safe and help me find a way to break this curse.

James' answering stare wasn't one of confusion or anger, like I expected it to be. Instead it was soft and understanding. He nodded to me.

'I'll stay.' He said quietly, so quietly it might as well have been a whisper.

'You two go on home. I'm going to stay around here for a bit.' He said in a much louder voice.

Both of the other two exchanged looks.

'James, come on. I think you need to go home too.' The man I had slapped told him.

'I'm fine. I'm staying right here. Go home.' James said, in a voice that implied no wasn't an answer.

They didn't argue any more, but simply turned around and muttered something under their breaths as they walked away.

I watched them disappear from sight, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as they vanished into the forest.

'So, Marion Brown. How on earth did I manage to run into you here?' James began, his smug expression I was so familiar with returning to his face.

I smiled a little, and pointed to the word CURSED written in the dirt. His eyes flicked to it and then back to me.

'Cursed how exactly? Can you not speak at all?' He asked.

I shook my head. There wasn't an easy way of describing my situation. So, I picked up the arrow again and wrote before CURSED.

 _I'm breaking a_

'You're breaking a curse?' He asked. I could nod at that one. 'So who is actually cursed?'

 _My family._

'All of them?' He asked. 'That's a big curse.'

I only rolled my eyes at him, and he chuckled a little.

'Oh, I missed that. The famous Marion Brown eye roll. I haven't seen you do that since Jonathan's christening.'

I smiled at him.

'I haven't actually seen you since then. What happened?'

I pointed to my throat again.

'Oh, sorry. Bad time to ask questions.' He told me.

I pointed at him, raising my eyebrow in question.

'Me?'

I nodded.

'I've been busy with my estate. Letters to write, people to see, money to keep track of. My Father died last year, so now I inherited everything. Sir James Thorne, money and house actually included this time.'

He looked down to the ground, and I wrote _Sorry_ in the earth.

He looked at it, tilting his head slightly to read it. Once he understood, he looked back at me.

'No, please. I never liked him anyway. Don't think he liked me very much either.' He said. 'What about your father? He's much nicer. Has he been cursed as well?'

I swallowed, and averted my gaze. I had hoped the topic wouldn't come up. Blinking away the tears that had already begun to form in the corner of my eyes, I picked up the arrow again, and wrote.

 _Dead._

James immediately placed his hand on my shoulder.

'Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. When did he… pass on?'

I put up one finger.

'Yesterday?' He said. I shook my head.

'Last week?' Again, I told him no.

'A month ago?' I nodded, still looking at the ground.

His hand began to squeeze my shoulder, and his thumb traced soothing patterns on my sleeve.

'I'm so sorry Marion. I know how much he meant to you.' Blinking, I nodded.

'What about the rest of your family? All those brothers and sisters you have?' Once again, I pointed to the big CURSED that was writing in the soil.

'Oh, right. Sorry.' He said. 'Can I ask how, or why?'

I simply pointed to the _Wait till sunset. Answers._

'Alright. Fine. No more questions about the curse.'

He stopped talking and we sat in silence for a few moments.

'And apparently with that; we have nothing else to talk about.' He joked.

I rolled my eyes at him again and picked up the arrow.

 _Ella?_

'She's good. I haven't seen her in a while. Last I heard she was going to see you for your wedding.'

I jumped at that.

My wedding!

What wedding?

I wasn't getting married.

I stared at him confused, but he only looked back more confused.

'Or at least I thought it was your wedding? Were you engaged?' He asked.

I shook my head. Of course I was not engaged.

'Oh. It must have been someone else then. Sorry, I must have mixed up the names.'

I calmed down a little bit. Why on earth would James think I was engaged? I'd never even kissed a boy before, let alone marry one!

'So, she was going to someone's wedding. Christopher's doing fine as well. Spoiling little Jonathan as much as he can. His nursery is full of toys and clothes. I try and get him a little wooden horse for his birthday last month, and I find that Christopher has already got him one. I'm his godfather, I should be the one spoiling him with toys while his father looks on disapprovingly.'

I smiled a little at that. It was really no surprise that Christopher was spoiling his son. I heard from Ella about all the things he had gotten her, and it was not a small list. But after a year of that hell she went through, I thought she deserved it, and more; for coming out of it still as kind and caring as ever. Clearly Christopher thought so too.

The sky above us began to cloud over a little, making it appear darker than it was. It wouldn't be long until sunset. I just had to hope that my siblings would be able to explain to James what had happened.

I gestured to the path I had come down, trying to indicate that we needed to go. James stood up and brushed himself down. I hoisted myself off the ground and began to lead James back to the cottage.

'Where are we going?' He asked as I started off down the path.

I moved my hand, trying to tell him to hurry up. He only stopped moving completely.

'No, not until you tell me where you're taking me, my lady.'

I huffed and moved my arms so that my fingertips were touching, making a triangle with my fore arms.

'Your home?' He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't my home, but it was about as close as a guess as I was going to get.

I began walking again but stopped when I noticed he hadn't followed me. Turning around, I raised my eyebrow in question.

'I just realised, I haven't said hello to you yet. How awfully impolite of me, after not seeing you for a whole year.'

I didn't move. Blood rushed to my cheeks, heating my face. I recalled the last time he had greeted me.

He took a step towards me, slowly. Then another. Until he was stood right before me. Then, he slowly lowered his head, so his lips could brush my cheek. They were soft and warm as he placed a kiss right there.

I watched him pull back through hooded eyelids.

My face flushed, and my cheeks reddened. He didn't break my stare.

'It's good to see you again Marion. I missed you.'

I looked away first, turning around and walking down the path. He followed me, and even though I couldn't see his face; I knew he had that confident smug expression back on his face.

We made our way back to the cottage in silence. I didn't look back at him the entire time we walked, knowing that if I did, I'd most likely go bright red with embarrassment of all the thoughts flying through my head.

James was here. The man who had danced all night with me at the ball. The one who had flirted with me; made me feel special. The first, and only man I'd ever been infatuated with.

And he had missed me. He had actually missed me.

I admitted to myself that I hadn't really given him much thought since the wedding. But now he was here, it was like a dam had broken and all those things I had thought about him two years ago came flooding back.

The cottage soon came into view, still with the door flung open. I hadn't thought to close it in the mad panic of running to Clara's aid.

'Ah, so this is where you live.' James said from behind me. 'I thought you lived in that small village. The one just outside the wood.'

My heart ached at the mention of home. The place we had abandoned without a second thought. I missed it, each and every day. But we couldn't return. Not soon anyway. I had no clue how long the faerie had cursed them for, but I guessed it was probably about as long as my silence, so I didn't feel safe in returning. Not stopping, I walked straight inside, and waited just behind the door for James.

He walked in slowly, taking in his surroundings. I tried to busy myself with preparing for when my siblings returned, not looking at him. I found the pot that I had filled with chopped vegetables earlier that day, and placed it in the fire place to start to cook. I also started the fire, a task I made sure took considerably longer than it normally did. I was not going to look at him. I wasn't.

'Do you need some help there?' I heard James ask me when the fire didn't light. I wasn't about to tell him I was only this bad at lighting fires on purpose. So I nodded, still staring at the unlit pile of dried grass and twigs, and moved to the side to let him kneel next to me.

He lit the grass with ease, blowing slightly to help the rest of the fire catch. Even though I tried to avoid it, I got a rather nice view of his profile; those high cheekbones catching the light from the fire, and those bright green eyes becoming alight with the red of the flames.

I blinked and averted my gaze. The man had only been back in my life less than an hour and I was already staring at him. I was better than this. I was not one of those girls who only has romance on their mind, so much so that they are incapable of doing anything else.

I had a family to feed and look after. No time for thoughts like that.

I stood and went to go and pick up the cup of water I had dropped before. Refilling it, I offered it to James, and then poured one for myself. He took it graciously, sipping at it a little; but his eyes never left mine as he drank. It was almost as if he was trying to meet my gaze as much as I was trying to avoid his.

He finished his cup, and placed it down on the table, noticing the amount of writing in the dust covering the table.

'You did this?' He asked.

I nodded.

'So you really can't speak then, not at all.'

Again, I nodded.

'Not even after sunset?'

I shook my head in response.

'Then, how am I going to get answers after sunset?' He looked very confused.

I moved to the table, finding a tiny corner that wasn't yet covered in writing, and wrote with my finger

 _You'll see._

Before I could finish writing it, James had moved round the table, and stood next to where I was. His hand gently placed itself over mine, and I looked up to him in shock.

His face was kind, a small smile twisting up the corners of his mouth.

'I really am sorry that this happened to you. You should have said something; I would have helped you.'

I appreciated the gesture, even though I knew deep down that there wasn't really much he could have done for me.

I was about to mouth the words 'Thank you' when a small scratching noise started on the other side of the door. My attention instantly focused on that, and I moved quickly out of James' reach. Opening the door, I found Richard sat on the doorstep, his paw out in front of him because he had just been scratching the wood. He crawled past me, into the house slowly, before stopping to look up at me.

I knew what he was asking, he wanted to be carried next to the fire. He liked sitting there, keeping warm. He would get there eventually, walking slowly on his four legs, but it was much faster for me to just carry him. Careful of his spikes, I let him crawl into my open palms and walked across the room to the chair by the fire, where he curled up in the warm glow.

'Who is this little fellow?' James said from the other side of the room. Richard jumped at the sudden sound, and looked towards James. He began squeaking something I couldn't understand, and I tried to gesture to him to calm down.

'Marion, you are aware that is a hedgehog right?' James told me. I shot him a cold glare, and he immediately shut up.

Once Richard had calmed down, something shot through the open door. A black raven began to fly around the inside of the house, startling James. Daniel accidentally made straight for James head and barrelled into him slightly. He cried out, and tried to hit him away. I marched over to him, grasped a firm hold of his wrists and held him still. James' eyes went wide when he saw who was restraining him.

I turned to face Daniel who calmed down a little and landed on the floor next to the fire, looking curiously at James. Turning back to James, I motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs and wait. He did as he was bid without complaint, but still looked between the animals who were in the room with a lot of confusion.

Then came Alexander, and trailing behind him, little Gwen. James actually yelped when he saw the little mouse scurrying around on the floor. But, he made no move from the chair I had placed him in. I busied myself tidying up; ignoring the looks I was being given by my siblings.

Then came Tom and Robbie, also going to curl up by the fire. And finally, in came a large white swan. She took one look at James, and charged straight for him. Loudly hissing at him, she waddled towards him at quite a pace, and he actually jumped out of the chair and made for the other side of the room.

I didn't blame her. If someone had pointed a crossbow at me, threatened to kill me for food, I would be understandably mad too. And so, I let her chase him around the room.

James' eyes were wide with shock and fear, as he stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the swan.

'Marion, what the hell is it doing?' He shouted at me.

I didn't move to help him. He had nearly killed her, he deserved a few minutes of this. I almost laughed as he nearly fell over furniture, frantically looking to me for help.

Once he stumbled over a small stool and fell onto his behind rather hard, I felt enough was enough.

Walking calmly over to where Clara was stood, hissing and honking at James; I gently placed my hand on her head. I stroked her soft white feathers. She started to calm down, slowly. The others all looked too scared to intervene, and also very confused.

Eventually, she stopped emitting sounds, and sat down, still staring at James with a lot of hate in her eye. He began to breathe normally, and sat up, rubbing his behind, which I imagine now rather sore and bruised.

'What the hell!' He exclaimed, picking himself up, and brushing himself down. 'Marion! Why did you let that wild animal inside!'

I glared at him, and Clara gave him a resounding honk. He recoiled a little at the sound.

Luckily, at that moment, the sun disappeared from the sky, descending darkness all around. All of my siblings stood in unison, before the usual golden light I had become accustomed to, began to swirl around their feet, making its way upwards in twirling illuminated ribbons of magic.

James' mouth fell open, as he watched all seven of the animal he had just seen come through the door, be engulfed by light.

In a matter of moments, it was all over again, and the golden magical light vanished.

In their places, were all my brothers and sister. Back in human form.

James' seemed frozen in shock.

Before anyone had time to process anything, Clara had marched right up to him, lifted her hand, and brought an almighty smack down across his left cheek. James stumbled backwards from the blow.

'That's for trying to kill me!' She shouted.

James cradled the side of his face, still staring at each of my siblings in turn, as if he still couldn't quite believe what he had just seen.

'You tried to kill her!' Alexander shouted, making his way to stand in front of her, as if he could protect her.

'I… I only….I had no idea….' James spluttered out. He moved his hand down from his face, to reveal a small cut in his bottom lip.

'What were you doing trying to kill her?' Alexander cried out. He looked murderous, as if he very well might punch him right there and then.

'Hunting, we were only hunting.' James whispered.

'Richard, would you please take those three outside to get some water. I'm about to say some things I don't want them hearing.' Alexander said, not taking his eyes of James for one second.

Richard rather expertly herded Gwen, Tom and Robbie all out of the door in a matter of seconds, before closing it firmly behind them.

'Let me explain.' James began.

'No, you don't get to explain anything. You tried to kill my sister. I don't give two shits about why. I only care that you stay the hell away from her, and from all of us. We're already cursed and exiled, we don't need you trying to murder us all!'

My heart stopped. I had brought James here to help us, and while Alexander's hate was justified, it wasn't going to help us. As quickly as I could, I walked past Alexander and Clara, and placed myself in between James and my family.

'I didn't know. I had no idea you had been cursed to be animals. If I had known, I never would have gone out hunting.' He said.

'Marion, why on earth is he here?' Alexander spat.

I tried to mouth 'To help us' but he didn't seem to get the message.

'Answers. Marion said you'd have answers.' James told them.

'Like hell we'll tell you!' Alexander yelled.

I stared at Alexander, attempting to give him a warning.

He simply stared back.

'No, Arry. He tried to kill her. What do you know?'

'She was there. She stopped me.' James told him. 'Your sister saved her. She saw the whole thing.'

'Is this true Arry? Why didn't you tell me!'

I gave him small smack on his arm, and then violently pointed to my throat.

His eyes softened a bit when he comprehended my meaning.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.' Alexander told me quietly. Blinking away the tears I hadn't even realised had formed in my eyes, I turned to look at James.

 _Ask._ I mouthed.

'Please, I only want to help. But to help, I need to understand.' James told them. Then he turned to Clara.

'I am so unbelievably sorry. I had no idea that was you. If there is anything I can do to try and make up for it, anything at all.'

She didn't respond. Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulder, to try and comfort her.

'How about a deal?' Daniel said. 'One hour, you get as many answers as you like, we think of a way you can atone for what you did today. One single hour of civility. No raised tempers.'

'Of course. I'll do whatever you deem necessary to pay for my horrid mistake earlier.' James told us. 'I am completely at fault here.'

'Yes you are.' Alexander scoffed.

'Alexander!' Daniel scolded him.

'Fine.' Alexander said simply, sitting in the chair facing James. 'Ten minutes.'

James glanced to me quickly, before pulling up a chair to sit opposite Alexander. I perched on the nearest end of the table whilst Daniel and Clara pulled up some other chairs behind Alexander. It looked a little like we were squaring up for battle.

'So,' Daniel began. 'Where do we start?'

'How about why you are all cursed, and why Marion can't seem to speak?' James said, glancing to me. Alexander saw his eyes flick in my direction and huffed.

'It was the springbloom celebration. All seven of us ran into the forest for the competition. Marion stayed behind.' Daniel said. He seemed to be the only one who was civil right now.

'We found a rose garden, and Gwen found an apple tree. We were about to pick them when we found ourselves…stuck?' Daniel asked.

'It was like being tied up, but there were no ropes or cord or anything. It felt really strange.' Clara admitted.

'This old man showed up and began shouting about how we were stealing from him, and how thieves should be punished. Using I guess what was his magic, he made all of us float towards the village square, and paraded us in front of everyone.'

'It was awful.' Clara muttered.

Alexander still stay adamantly silent.

'Marion ran through the crowd and tried to get to us, but you couldn't, could you?' Daniel continued, turning to me. I shook my head slowly.

'She shouted and screamed at him to let us go, and then he waved his hand and…'

'Her voice was gone.' Alexander said. 'He ripped her voice from her throat.'

James' head turned fully to face me, horror and sympathy residing there. I looked at the floor.

'He held her down with magic as he started talking about how we were no better than animals for stealing from him, so, that's what we became. He blasted gold magic at us, and we were all transformed into animals. It doesn't hurt or anything; but that first time, we were all scared.' Daniel told him.

'The old man turned to Arry and pointed at her, I think he gave her back her voice, but told her in order to break the curse, she would have to remain silent for a whole year.'

I still hadn't looked up from the floor. Scenes of that day floated in front of my vision, a painful reminder of how much I had failed them all.

'Then, to make matters worse, he put a spell over all the people of our village. They turned against us, into an angry mob, saying it was our fault that he came there, and we put them all in danger. Arry grabbed all of us, and ran back to the house. But they arrived at the house not long after, so she packed our bags and we ran here. We're still not quite sure how she knew it was here, but we're safe. We have food and a roof over our heads, and no one's trying to kill us.'

Silence fell over the room. I eventually looked up to see James still staring at me, his mouth agape slightly.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' He whispered. Gone was the usual smug and arrogant expression. The face I saw before me was one of deep feeling and sympathy.

James eventually broke my stare and turned to Daniel.

'You said it was springbloom. That was only last week.'

All four of us nodded.

'Marion told me about your father. I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through.'

Daniel just nodded. Alexander remained frozen and Clara still looked like she wanted to kill James.

James stood up.

'Would you please excuse me. It's late.'

Alexander nodded, and without saying another word, James simply turned around and walked straight out of the door.

I sat frozen in shock.

He had just left.

Gone.

He hadn't understood. He wasn't going to help us.

He had just walked out of the door and abandoned us.

* * *

AN- Review?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen.**

I didn't sleep very much that night.

Lying awake, I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable; or to stop my mind from racing.

He had just left.

He didn't understand.

He wasn't going to help us.

After he learned everything, he turned his back on us.

On me.

I still couldn't believe it.

I couldn't believe that he was here. In the forest. After all this time, I'd run into him again, quite literally. And I'd thought…

I'd thought we'd gone back to how we had been for those brief days of paradise in the Duke's palace. Where he had flirted with me, and been kind to me, and made me feel like someone for once, not just a lowborn scullery maid.

Maybe it had all been in my head, when I had thought he genuinely cared about me, even if it was just to make sure I was alright. I'd simply misread what I thought I saw on his face.

Or he was only being polite. And decided that civility ended the moment he knew the truth.

He must have been repulsed by what he heard. It was bad enough he'd had to spend over an hour with me, a lowborn; let alone a cursed one who could only bring harm to everyone she came across.

I was the problem. I must be. Why anyone wanted to be around me anymore was beyond me. I had failed to protect my family, and almost failed to protect Clara again. It was my fault, my fault, my fault.

James had been repulsed by me. He hated me.

I wasn't capable of doing anything anymore. I couldn't look after them all, I couldn't speak, and I was not worthy of help.

After he had left, Alexander turned on me, still very mad and demanded to know how on earth James had gotten mixed up in all of this. I knew I was not able to respond, so I took myself off to the girl's bedroom, Alexander shouting up the stairs at me.

I lay on the bed, not really able to think clearly. Hurt and confusion filled me. Clara knocked on the door a little later, and asked if I was hungry. I shook my head, and turned away to face the window, so she wouldn't see the tears that had collected in my eyes. She didn't press me, and left me alone. I heard her put Gwen to bed a little later and she quickly followed.

I drifted off at some point in the early hours of the morning, but was awake again before dawn. I sat up, wrapped up in the sheets, watching the black sky morph into a pale blue.

Fifty-one more weeks of this hell. Fifty-one more weeks alone.

I had no idea if I could manage it. It was impossible. Solitude and silence for another year.

I wouldn't be able to bear it. I'd be a shell of a person by the time it was over. This would destroy me.

And I didn't have a hope in the world. If James wouldn't help me, no one would.

I was alone.

My thoughts were interrupted by a bright golden light glowing from the two beds next to me. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I had never seen the transformation happen at dawn.

As usual, the golden light swirled and twisted around them, shrinking until the golden ball of magic were the same size as the animals they were bring transformed into. The magic disappeared, leaving a swan and a mouse in its wake.

Deciding I was going to get no more sleep, I rolled out of bed and changed into my day dress quickly. I quietly made my way downstairs, being careful not to wake any of my brothers who were also back in their animal forms, fast asleep in their hammocks.

Tiptoeing around the main room, I retrieved the bucket we used to collect water, and quietly opened the door. I dragged it outside to the pump and began to fill it slowly, before placing it back inside.

I hated being idle, it would drive me insane, the thoughts still swirling around my head. But there wasn't much I could do in the house, without waking anyone up. So, I picked up the basket we had found, and walked to the orchard to go and find some apples.

It was now early May, the trees were in full bloom, but there was not much fruit ripe enough to pick. I had to search for quite some time. I think, in the back of my mind, I was delaying going back to the cottage. Alexander was still mad at me, and rightly so. I would wait until they were all out of the house before returning, just so I wouldn't have to face their judgment, not until that night at least.

I'd left the door open a crack, so they would all be able to leave the cottage without having me there.

The sun climbed ever higher in the sky, and after about an hour, I had enough apples to fill about half of the basket, and there were no more, ripe ones to be found. I had no choice to return back to the cottage, and start the other chores I had waiting for me.

The house was empty when I got back. They'd all woken up and gone outside to play, or find food, our whatever they did all day. I couldn't ask, and they always returned, so it didn't really matter. Closing the door, washing and then depositing the apples on the table, I made myself some porridge for breakfast. It took quite a while, making the fire, lighting it, heating the water, then actually cooking the oats before I could eat them.

I had just finished the last spoonful, when there was a rather loud knock at the door.

I jumped.

The knock sounded again, and I left the bowl on the table, and moved to open the door.

My hand rested on the latch. Another knock vibrated through the wood, sending pulses down my arm.

'Marion?' A male voice shouted through the old wood.

Pushing down the latch, I swung open the door to reveal a young man, his black hair still ruffed from sleep.

James.

I stood frozen in shock.

He was here. He came back.

'Good morning.' He said, 'Sleep well?'

I found myself shaking my head before I could even think.

'Oh dear, why?'

I pointed to my throat again, and he seemed to be reminded of my inability to speak.

'Sorry.' He said simply.

Reaching into his pocket, he opened his mouth again.

'In fact, that's the reason I'm here.'

Pulling a small object out of his jacket pocket, he handed it to me. It was wrapped in thin cloth, tied in a pretty green ribbon.

'Go on, open it.'

I gently pulled the end of the ribbon until it untangled and fell off the package into my hand. Next the cloth fell away to reveal a small piece of a flat dark grey stone, about as large as my two hands put together. A thin wooden border ran around the edge, defining a neat end of the stone.

'It's a slate. You write on it.' James said reaching into his pocket again, 'With this.'

A small stick of a powdery white stone was revealed in his hand.

'My father used to make me practice my letters on one of these. You can write things on it, and then wipe it off with your sleeve and use it again. I thought you could use something like this.'

He leaned forward and placed the small white stick on the stone, before beginning to write with it; just one word.

 _Hello._

I smiled.

He had brought this for me.

For me!

He cared.

'Seeing as thought you can't talk, there's no reason why you can't communicate. I figured you'd run out of space on that table soon, if not already.'

He offered me the small writing stone and a small smile.

I took it, and glanced down. I should have written my thanks or gratitude.

But I didn't.

Instead, I moved the white stone over the slate and wrote two words.

 _You left._

He looked down and saw the writing. Snapping his head up, he looked at me.

'What?'

I pointed to the words again.

He sighed heavily.

'Oh, you mean last night.'

I turned around and moved to close the door behind me. He had walked out; he hadn't wanted anything to do with me.

'Marion, stop. Please, let me explain.'

I stopped. I didn't turn around to face him.

'I didn't mean to offend you like that. Sorry, I didn't think. I realise now it must have seemed very rude.'

Moving my legs, I took several steps towards a seat by the fire, and sat in one of the chairs, gesturing for James to take the one opposite me. He walked quickly though the door, closing it swiftly behind him, and then sat in the chair I had indicated.

Taking a deep breath, he began.

'You have to understand I was surprised yesterday. I never expected to see you in the forest of all places, let alone trying to defend a swan. I mean, it was a pleasant surprise. Very pleasant indeed.'

'And when your brother was telling me about the curse, you have no idea how sorry I was Marion, for all of you. I was listening, trust me; but also I was thinking.'

He sighed.

'I could never imagine going through what you are going through now. I could never have that resolve, and I admire you greatly for it. So, I was thinking how I could possibly make it easier for you.'

I started at that. He'd been thinking of me.

'Then, I remembered my old slate and chalk, and thought that might help. I fully intended to come back last night with the delivery of it, but by the time I had gotten back to the manor, and actually found the damn thing in my old nursery, it was well past midnight, and I figured you'd be asleep. So, I woke at dawn and rode here.'

He reached forward and took my hand gently in his.

'I'm so sorry if I upset you in any way, for my behaviour last night, or yesterday. And I will try to make it up to you.'

Lifting my eyes slowly to meet his, I saw in his face that he truly meant it. He wanted to help. Even his leaving last night had been to try and help me.

'Please, Marion. Let me make it up to you.' He said hoarsely.

I looked down to the slate he had brought me. It was old, but it was well made, and would have cost at least a week's wages, maybe two. There was no way I would have been able to afford this. It was very generous of him.

He cared. He cared enough to try and help me out of the hell of a situation we were in. He had thought of a way to make it easier on me.

I smiled.

I wasn't alone.

I wasn't isolated.

I had someone who cared.

Picking up the piece of chalk, I scratched a sentence onto the slate.

 _Thank you so much._

James smiled at me.

'Your very welcome, my lady. I only wish I could do more.'

I bent my head over the slate again.

 _Talk to Alexander. Please._

'Alexander's the eldest boy right? The one who got very angry at me last night.'

I nodded.

 _He thinks this is all his fault. He's hurting_.

James swallowed, and his fingers rubbed soothing patterns over the back of my hand.

'Of course I will. Anything at all.'

His smiled dropped, and his expression turned serious.

'I have to get back. Stupid estate matters to attend to. But, if you'll let me, I'll come back tonight after sunset and I'll speak to him then. I'll go on my knees and beg his forgiveness if that's what he wants.'

He leant forwards.

'And I'd also like to visit you as well, if you'll allow me. Someone to talk to.' He stopped, as if realising what he had just said.

'Well, maybe not talk to, but to keep you company.' He finished with a small smile.

My heart leapt. I wanted nothing more than someone to keep me company during the long days of silence and solitude.

And with James.

I couldn't think of a person I'd more want to see.

I nodded vigorously.

James's face lit up. Something shone in those green eyes, something I didn't know how to describe, but desperately wanted to see again.

He stood from his chair, still beaming.

'Well then my lady, I guess I will see you tonight.' He chuckled.

I stood to escort him out of the door, placing the slate and chalk down on the table.

We got to the door, and he slowly opened it. But, before he walked through the doorframe, I tapped him lightly on his arm.

He spun back around to face me.

I mouthed the words _Thank you,_ and before he had time to react, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him in to my embrace. He grunted a bit at the sudden impact, and I lifted my chin over his shoulder.

I was so grateful, so relieved I had found him in the forest the day before. And he was going to help me.

He froze for about a second, before his arms tightened around me, holding me close.

'You are most very welcome Marion.' He said quietly.

I was about to pull away when I suddenly felt weak and dizzy.

 _Before me was a man. I was embracing a man. His rough tunic grazed my cheek as I held him close. Out of the corner of my eye, his red hair shone in the midday sun, and his arms circled my waist tightly. They felt so secure and safe, like I was made to fit in them._

 _I couldn't see the man properly, but I knew him; knew him well._

And then, just like that, the vision was gone.

I blinked.

What had just happened.

I was hugging James, not some strange red haired man.

What on earth had brought that on?

I pulled back, to see James smile, his definitely black hair still a little mused up.

Why had I just seen ginger hair? It made no sense!

James gave me one last small smile, before stepping backwards, out of my arms, and out of the door. I watched as he walked to a horse I hadn't noticed was tied up to the right hand side of the house. He expertly placed his foot in the stirrup and hauled himself onto the back of the horse with great ease. Giving me a mock bow from the waist up, he clicked his tongue, and soon he and the horse disappeared from view.

I closed the door to the cottage, and went about my daily chores, smiling as I did.

True to his word, James returned later that night.

He arrived just before sunset.

Horse hooves echoed through the trees of the forest, alerting me to his arrival. I may have waited just a little way down the path instead of at the cottage. My siblings would be returning any second, if they hadn't already, and I rather selfishly wanted a little time with James without them there.

I had sacrificed enough for my family; I felt I was entitled to this one small pleasure.

The hoof beats got ever closer, until I could hear a horse whinnying as it slowed down, and a familiar rider came into view. He was wearing the same clothes he had done that morning, although this time, his hair had been combed.

He saw me waiting through the trees, and I had never seen a face light up as much as his did. His urged the horse on, right next to where I was standing, waiting for him. He pulled to a stop, and very smoothly swung his leg over the saddle until he hopped out of the stirrup and hit the ground graciously.

I smiled.

He was here. It had been terribly dull all day with no one to see.

He grasped my hand, and gave me a gracious bow over it.

'My lady of the forest.' He murmured, before bestowing a light kiss on the back of my hand. Even though I tried my best to ignore it, blood still rushed to my cheeks, having him treat me like a lady.

I gave him a mock curtsy in response, and his tilted his head back to chuckle. When his own lovely green eyes met my own, I stuck my tongue out at him in a very unladylike fashion, forcing more laughs to tumble from his lips. I removed my hand from his grasp, and we walked back to the cottage in friendly quiet.

As I suspected, all of my siblings in their animal forms had already arrived. James greeted them all in turn, surprised he could remember each by name. He had only ever been told their names once, at Ella's Wedding, and that was two years ago.

Only Alexander didn't seem to be interested in what James had to say to them. Even Clara who'd had a crossbow pointed at her, seemed to have forgiven him for his mistake the previous day. No doubt it had something to do with James being an attractive young man.

The sun disappeared behind the line of the horizon, and once again, they transformed back into humans. Clara ran upstairs to get changed, she was still in her nightgown; as were all of my brothers and sisters. As soon as Clara left, Gwen, Robbie and Tom all decided they wanted to get changed to, and the entire house was a flurry of activity.

Daniel and Richard began to finish making dinner, and I was tapped on the shoulder by Alexander, who lent forward and whispered in my ear.

'Please can I speak to you. Outside.'

I nodded and followed him out. James caught my eye just before I walked through the door. He looked like he was asking if he should follow us. I shook my head, and he stopped, before turning back and offering his services to my brothers on dinner duty.

I closed the door and followed Alexander around the back of the house. He stopped, and ran his hand through his hair, which was now even longer than it usually was.

'I wanted to apologise, about yesterday.' He began. 'I get that you were only trying to help.'

I nodded.

'And I realise that the man in there had no idea what he was doing, Lord James, is it?'

I shrugged a little and then nodded. He was a Sir, not a lord, but I couldn't exactly tell Alexander the difference.

'I may have unfairly taken it out on you, and I shouldn't have done. I'm very sorry Arry. You've definitely got the worse end of this curse, and I should be making it easier on you, not harder.'

I smiled a little at him. I knew it had been hard on him too. He'd been down and in pain since Father started refusing to eat. And with his death and the curse, Alexander needed support, we all did. We were a family, we needed to be there for each other, more so than what we were currently doing.

'I'm so sorry.' He breathed out. 'And if you think this man can really help us, I'm willing to be civil to him. Just don't expect me to become best friends with him, that's all.'

I nodded, and gestured to him to wait there. He looked confused, but didn't move. I quickly raced back inside, and found James, Richard and Daniel, all chatting to each other as they chopped vegetables in a sort of line. James instantly looked up when he heard the door open, and smiled at me. I beckoned him to follow me.

'I'm sorry, your sister seems to require assistance. I shall be back momentarily.' James told them. He placed down the knife, and came towards me with a small wink. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. My brothers hadn't seen, even though they were looking in our direction, and I was not about to give them something to tease me over.

James strode past me, out of the open door and stopped when he saw Alexander waiting for him. To his credit, his expression didn't falter once.

I closed the door behind me, and stood back as my brother and James faced each other.

'I feel I owe you an apology.' James started. 'I behaved utterly appallingly yesterday. And I completely understand if you never forgive for how I treated your family.'

Alexander didn't react.

'I'm so sorry if I caused any harm to your sister, if I had known, I wouldn't have pointed an arrow at her. And yesterday, it has been brought to my attention that I must have appeared very rude indeed for simply walking out like that. As I told Marion earlier, I had my reasons. I want to help you in any way I can. I only ask for a chance to prove to you how sincerely I mean this.' James continued.

I watched with a held breath. Alexander only shook his head slightly.

'Well, I thought I was out here to apologise to you, but you seemed to have beat me to it.'

James smiled a little.

'I wanted to say sorry for how I was yesterday.' Alexander began.

'No, no! I was completely at fault.' James interrupted. 'I imagine if I had a sister, or someone to protect, I would have reacted the way you did, if not worse. You do credit to your family for how much you care.'

I released the breath I hadn't realised I was keeping in. Alexander returned James' smile.

'I'm glad we could clear this up.' My brother said. 'But I don't think Arry would have forgiven me if we hadn't'

Both of them looked towards me, and I rolled my eyes, and sighed.

Together, they both chuckled.

James extended his hand towards Alexander, and my brother grasped it firmly, and shook his hand.

My heart leapt at the sight of them. It must have shown on my face, as Alexander raised his eyebrow slightly at me.

'Thank you for this Alex.' James started, but Alexander put his hand up.

'Don't call me Alex.' He said. 'If we're going to be civil with each other, no one calls me Alex. Ever.'

James looked a little stunned, but nodded his understanding.

'Shall we? I have promised your brothers I would continue to help them. They've put me in charge of carrots. Apparently, they are the easiest vegetable to cook.'

'They are.' Alexander told him.

'Hmm, I'm not sure whether to be offended, or flattered that they even let me near uncooked vegetables….' James said with a small grin, his usual smug expression had returned to his face.

I rolled my eyes again, and opened the door to the cottage, and indicated for both of them to go through. Alexander went through first, but James held back a little bit. I was about to walk through the doorframe, when I felt a strong hand close around my wrist, tugging gently.

I spun around to see James grinning at me.

'So, how was that?' He whispered. Although I tried to ignore it, his warm breath near my ear cause goose bumps to run down my neck and arms.

I nodded and smiled, about as much as I could do to indicate that it went well.

'Good.' James continued. 'I'm glad it made you happy.'

I could almost read the unsaid sentiment in his eyes.

 _I want to make you happy._

I sidestepped out of the view of the door, bringing James along with me. Slowly, I raised myself onto my tiptoes until his face was in line with my own.

Gently, I leaned forwards, and placed a soft kiss on his left cheek. He seemed stunned, or frozen, like he didn't want to move. I pulled back and mouthed.

 _Thank you_.

His green eyes met mine, and his smile dropped, to something else. Something I couldn't place.

'You're welcome. So very welcome.' He whispered, a little hoarsely.

Lowering myself back onto flat feet, I turned around and walked through the door before he could react. I had to pull myself away.

My heart was racing. Had I really just done that?

Why?

I knew exactly why. I wasn't going to lie to myself. It wouldn't be fair to lie.

Seeing James again, it had awoken all those old feeling I hadn't thought about for the last two years.

I had realised that I liked him, that maybe I was infatuated with him.

Maybe, a small part of me still was…

And maybe a small part of him liked me as well…

Just maybe. I could only hope.

One thing didn't quite add up though. I'd been in Milton for two years, and in all that time, I hadn't thought about James, or thought I still liked him. It wasn't like there had been anyone else that I had liked. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more it appeared like there was just a large two-year gap in my feelings, for anyone at all, romantically. I just hadn't liked anyone in two years.

That made no sense. I couldn't have just turned off my feelings for two years, could I?

But as James sauntered back through the door, those thoughts flew out of my head.

That was the past.

And what lay before me, was the future.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen.**

James became a regular visitor to the house.

Nearly every day, I would get a knock at the door, to find a handsome young man standing there, usually with a large grin on his face.

He was as good as his word. He came and kept me company on the long days when my siblings weren't around. He distracted me from all the bad things that had happened to me, and kept my spirits up. How he managed to do that was well beyond me.

He also delivered on his promise to help us. One morning, he arrived with a large bag attached to the rear of his saddle. It was full of flour and vegetables and fruit, enough food to keep us going for a good long while. I almost cried in relief when I saw it, and gave him the largest hug I could. He held me just as tightly, his hands pressed firmly on my back.

I wrote _Thank you_ on the slate many times, but he only said there was one form of gratitude he would accept.

I raised my eyebrow in question, and he pointed to his cheek. I rolled my eyes and gave him a quick peck where he wanted. His smug expression didn't disappear for the rest of the day, not that I minded.

We spend hours walking around the forest. I claimed I was trying to find more firewood or food, but really, I just wanted him to stay around for as long as possible. I thought if we stayed cooped up in that cottage, he'd soon get bored and go home. But he quite happily was dragged on all those doomed searches, not minding one bit.

He told me all about his estate, about his schooling at Ashburne, what he had been doing since last he saw me. I listened for hours, not that I could really reciprocate.

I tried one day. We were sat at the table with the slate and chalk, and I tried to draw out my life in Milton. I drew the dress shop, the workroom where I had spent hours and hours with Amelia, chatting and gossiping. I was no artist, by any stretch of the imagination. But James seemed to understand most of it.

I sketched Isabelle, the inventor with a bright future ahead of her. James found it quite remarkable that such a young girl could be so brilliant. I attempted to draw some of her inventions, but I couldn't quite seem to get the hang of it. Through a lot of gesturing and pointing, I eventually managed to get the ideas across to James. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time to describe how the device that could see around doors worked. James actually almost fell of his chair with laughing whilst I tried to tell him about the chicken feeder. I thought I did rather a good impression of a chicken!

One thing did unnerve me though. As I drew the work room, it brought back a lot of memories of me and Amelia stitching fine jackets and waistcoats. But I could not seem to recall who was ordering all of these fine clothes. It must have been a highborn; they were the only ones with enough money to afford such items. It annoyed me to no end. James looked concerned when he saw me staring at the picture, and asked me what was wrong.

I wrote I couldn't remember, and he simply reassured me that it was a long time ago, I must have just forgotten over time. I nodded, but in my head I still tried to remember. Something didn't quite add up.

But there was no point in dwelling on it. Not when James was there. There were other things to be thinking about.

James also helped with another matter, Ella. Even though we no longer desperately needed her help, I still wanted to tell her about our situation, and see if she could do anything about breaking the curse. James brought some paper and ink to the cottage one day, and told me if I wanted to write her a letter explaining everything, then he would personally see to it that it was sent. I wrote several pages to her about what happened, and begged her to come and see me soon. I tried to give the best directions to the cottage as I was able to give, but simply saying 'It's just off the main path through the forest, and keep going quite a way' I didn't think would cut it. James sealed it for me, and promised to send one of his servants the next morning to deliver it.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. I had settled into a routine where I would wait for James every morning outside the cottage. He would arrive late morning, always with a large smile on his face. We'd spend the afternoon together, doing various things, and then he'd have dinner with us. He would help make it. Daniel taught him how to dice carrots and onions efficiently. He claimed to have never done it before, something that shocked my family. We'd been so used to doing it for ourselves for so long, we'd forgotten that not everyone learned when they were young.

Alexander set him to work with the washing up as well. His ignorance there was almost comical. Clara had to explain to him that simply rinsing the dirty bowls did not get rid of the leftover food and that you had to scrub it clean. He submitted to her better judgment without complaint, something that she bragged about all that night, about how she had gotten a handsome young man to do whatever she said. James didn't say anything, but kept glancing my way while he scrubbed, giving me small secretive smiles.

My face flushed. I'd admitted to myself a while ago that I liked James, and I wanted him to like me in return. There were little glances and accidental brushes over my hand that had been happening a lot over the last two weeks. I knew I should try and ignore them, but I found I didn't want to. I lay awake at night going over all the tiny little signs that maybe he felt the same way about me.

I wasn't in love, not by any means. But certainly liked him, a lot.

At the end of the two weeks, we were preparing the best we could for that Thursday. Robbie was turning ten, and although they were all still cursed and I couldn't speak, I saw no reason not to have a birthday celebration for him. It would no doubt be small and pitiful, and I couldn't exactly get him a birthday present. But he was turning ten, and that needed to be celebrated.

I found flowers to decorate the cottage with, stringing up a garland of them through the beams of the cottage. James had told me he had things to do that day, but he would try and come and see me in the evening, when the little party was to happen. We couldn't exactly do it in daylight hours. I made his favourite soup; parsnip and carrot, and tried to tidy up the cottage as much as I was able. It was rather hard when we had four hammock strung up in the main room. But there wasn't much I could do about them, the boys needed somewhere to sleep.

The cottage looked vaguely nice by the time the sun was setting, and the soup was coming along nicely. I had written _Happy Birthday Robbie_ in swirling letters on my slate and propped it up on the table. My siblings returned, Robbie bouncing around the room as a fawn, looking very excited for his birthday. The sun disappeared and they all turned back into humans again. Before anyone could do anything, Robbie was jumping up and down, running to Alexander.

'I'm ten! It's my birthday!' He cried.

Alexander lifted him up. 'Yes it is. Look whose all grown up now!'

My siblings all joined in with wishing him a happy birthday.

I only gave him a hug; it was all I could do.

'Can we go and play games now?' He shouted. I nodded, and he and Gwen ran out of the door.

I picked up a long thick stick I had found earlier that day. I had wrapped some scraps of fabric around the end, making it into a torch. I lit the torch from the fire where the soup was still cooking, and carefully walked out of the door to the unlit pile of firewood I had prepared. It lit with surprising ease, flames springing to life before me. The bonfire grew larger and larger, until it was light enough to see by.

Robbie wanted to play tig, and Alexander decreed that as it was his birthday, he was in charge for the night. He squealed at this, and told everyone he was going to be it, and began to chase us around. The forest was filled with the sounds of my brothers and sisters screaming and running, trying to get away from Robbie. The older ones of course made it easier on him, running extra slowly. He only shouted in delight and it wasn't long before Alexander was caught.

I ran along with my siblings, enjoying myself. Even though we were cursed and out here, we had still managed to find some happiness. We would never be alone, not as long as we had each other. And we would always find a way to make the best out of a bad situation. We were fighters, we were not going to let the bad days win.

The game continued for quite some time, all of us eventually being caught. Only Gwen would not concede defeat. For someone so young, she certainly had a determined streak in her. She never wanted to be left behind by any of her brothers.

In the end, Robbie caught her, and she refused to admit defeat. He simply told her that it was his birthday, so he was the winner. She didn't like it one bit, but chewed her lip and told him that he was the victor.

Next, Robbie wanted to play hide and seek. Alexander told everyone not to go too far away, and to make sure they could see the house at all times. Then, he lifted his arm over his eyes and started to count.

We all took off in different directions. I ran just a little way into the forest, down the path, and hid behind a large old tree. I was still well within the range Alexander had specified. Peeking around the trunk, I watched as Alexander finished counting and began to look, firstly walking directly away from where I was hidden.

I stayed like that for about a minute, watching and listening as one by one, my siblings were found by Alexander. I could tell he was still over the far side of the house.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I whirled around; almost tripping over a tree root in the process.

Flailing my arms out, I accidentally hit whoever had just touched me, and to my surprise, I found James standing right behind me.

'Hello.' He whispered.

My mouth fell open in shock.

'Well, don't you look pleased to see me.' He continued, still whispering. He was standing so close to me; I could feel the outside of his shoe press against my boot. It was impossible not to look directly at him.

'Why are you behind a tree?' He asked, not whispering this time. I hastily pressed my finger to my lips, and gestured for him to be quiet.

'Or what?' he said, slightly louder. I knew he was teasing me, trying to get a reaction out of me. I took my finger from my own lips, and gently placed it on his. He instantly stopped talking. His gaze flitted from my mouth to my eyes.

Neither of us moved. I didn't want to, couldn't. We simply stood there. I was lost, completely, in those amazing lovely green eyes. I could feel his breath heat my cheek slightly, and feeling of his soft lips against my forefinger. I could have sworn that I felt him press against my finger slightly, like the ghost of a kiss.

A loud squeal interrupted us, Alexander had just found Gwen. Blinking, I lowered my finger from his face. His gaze still didn't leave mine. I tried to step backward, but managed to hit the rough bark of the tree.

James realised how close we were, and took a step back.

'I came with a gift for the birthday boy.' He said, gesturing to the bag he had strung over his shoulder. 'Well, it's really sort of for everyone, but he can open the box.'

'Ah ha!' Alexander cried, appearing from around the back of the tree. 'Arry, there you are. Oh, hello James.'

'Alexander.' James said, with a polite incline of his head. 'Have you found Robbie yet? I've got something to give him.'

'Yes, he's just gone inside to get a drink.'

'Excellent.' James replied. When he saw that Alexander wasn't moving on, he gave him a polite smile and walked briskly past the tree and towards the cottage.

Alexander didn't say anything, but simply raised his eyebrow in question. I blushed a little, and looked to the floor. I knew he knew exactly what was going on, but instead of being disproving, he found it amusing.

Then, without a word, he turned back and continued to search for the remaining members of our family, still hiding in the forest.

I stood still for a moment.

Had that really just happened?

I would have been so easy to just reach forward and kiss him.

I might have done if we hadn't been interrupted.

A thousand thoughts and worries flew through my head.

He wouldn't have done that unless he liked me in return. Would he?

Maybe he simply valued our friendship. Was that all it was? We had just become such close friends that he was comfortable standing that close to me.

It couldn't be.

Even though I had absolutely no experience with men what so ever, it felt like there was more to that than simply friendship.

There was definitely something there. Something between us.

And I wanted there to be.

Unable to keep the smile off my face, I succumbed to it, grinning from ear to ear.

He liked me.

Me!

Poor, low born, cursed me!

Despite of everything, I had someone who cared.

Composing myself, and trying to seem as unaffected as I could be, I took a deep breath, and made my way towards the cottage.

The door was open, and light was pouring out through it from the fire and the many candles I had lit to banish the darkness. James had actually supplied most of them, bringing them with him when he came to visit.

I stepped through the old worn down wooden doorway, and found four out of my seven siblings inside. Robbie, Gwen, Daniel and Richard. I could hear Alexander still running around outside trying to find Clara and Tom, but if the squeal that reached our ears was anything to go by, I guessed it wouldn't be too long before Clara joined us.

Robbie was sat at the table staring at a large box, about the size of his head. His smile filled his face, but his chin was resting on his hands as he stared at it.

I was confused.

James gave me a sideways smile.

'I told him he could open it.' He admitted, throwing his arms up in the air as if to protest is innocence.

'I'm waiting for everyone to get back.' Robbie told me, a very excited tone to his voice.

I glanced back to the package. It had Robbie's name written on the top, and a pretty white ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a neat large bow on top of the box.

Gwen and Robbie were both observing it from every angle, trying to guess what was inside. Their guesses ranged from wooden toys, to a brush to comb his fur when he was a fawn to a new set of clothes.

James stayed silent on the subject, refusing to give anything away.

Clara soon joined us after being caught, and seeing as though there was only Tom left hiding, he came out as he had won. It wasn't long before all members of my family, and James of course, were huddled in the small main room.

Robbie let out an excited squeal, and began to pull the white ribbon until the bow became undone. Then he lifted the lid of the box off carefully, but quickly.

He gasped when he saw what was inside. Even I was curious about what James was giving my brother.

Robbie carefully lifted the object out of the box, to reveal a rather large three tier birthday cake, complete with jam and cream.

My mouth fell open at the sight of it.

It was huge, enough to feed a dozen people at least.

'Happy birthday Robbie.' James said.

'Is it all for me?!' Robbie asked, eyeing up all of the sugar dusted on top.

James chuckled and shook his head.

'No, it's for everyone. But I think, seeing as though it's your birthday, you get the biggest piece. That is, of course, if your sister and brother will allow it.' He said, glancing towards me and Alexander.

'Maybe just this once.' Alexander told him with a smile.

I nodded at Robbie, and he instantly ran off to find a knife and a plate. Daniel managed to slow him down and took care of finding the knife and cutting the cake. Robbie handed out the plates to everyone, and we all tucked in.

I couldn't help but take a secret look at James. He looked so happy, graciously accepting a slice of cake from Robbie.

He had done this for my brother, for my family. For me.

We hadn't had a birthday cake for such a long time. And even when we'd had one, it had been a small little thing, just barely enough for each of us to have a sliver. No cream or jam in sight.

And he had given us this, to just be kind.

I bit my lip and turned my attention to the cake on the plate before me. It was delicious, and very rich.

Robbie and Gwen's faces were soon covered in cream and jam and sugar and crumbs, as they scoffed the cake as quickly as they were able. They managed to get it all over their hands, faces, and even in their hair. Alexander dragged them out to the water pump to wash themselves of the remains of food.

I began to gather up the empty plates from people, but paused when I got to James.

I mouthed _Thank you_ to him, and he gave me a small smile, before handing me his plate. I grabbed the edges and took it into my hands, but as I did, I felt his fingers just brush over mine, gently. They were only there for a second, but I felt them, and I know he knew that. I turned to focus on gathering the rest of the plates from my siblings and moved them to the empty bucket we used to wash up in.

Alexander returned with Gwen and Robbie, who were now yawning, and rubbing their eyes with tiredness. Clara picked up Gwen and carried her upstairs, she looked almost asleep by the time she got up there. Alexander began to get Robbie ready for bed. Tom and Richard also decided that it would be time to turn in soon.

I glanced to the pile of dirty plates laying there in bucket. They weren't going to clean themselves, and the longer I left them, the more food would stick to them.

So, I lifted up the heavy bucket into my arms, and began to carry it outside to the water pump. I tried to not look behind me, but I could hear James' footsteps following me.

I made it round the back of the cottage without much difficulty, and set the bucket down in line with the pipe of the pump. But before I could reach for it, another hand closed around it and began to move. James had beaten me to it.

'Let me help.' He said softly.

Together, we managed to clean most of the plates rather quickly. I finished drying the last one, when James turned to me.

'I know it's not your birthday, but I have something for you too.'

I placed the last plate down on the pile, and turned to face him. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a small wrapped parcel.

I smiled, and took it carefully into my hands. Peeling away the white ribbon that held it together, I gently pushed off the paper it was wrapped in.

In my hand, was a small blank book. There was a dark red cloth cover and it held quite a few beige pieces of paper, bound together with black thread.

My breath caught in my throat.

He'd given me this.

A gift.

'I know you use the slate a lot, but I thought if you wanted to write something down, more permanently.'

I stared at it.

A little book, all of my very own.

James had given me a book.

A smile spread over my face.

I glanced up.

Mouthing, _Thank you, thank you, thank you!_ I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

His arms went instantly around my waist, and he whispered in my ear.

'You're very welcome, I'm glad you like it.'

Pulling back slightly, so I could see his face, I leaned in and kissed his cheek. I saw as his eyes fluttered closed for a fraction of a second. I pulled my head back, but his arms didn't let me move any further.

I was being held tightly, unable to move from where our faces were now inches away from each other.

His lovely green eyes met mine, before dropping down to my lips. My breaths were coming in hard and fast. All my thoughts were directly focused on him, the way his hands held my back, his warm breath on my cheek, those eyes that shone.

And I found that I didn't want to move. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

Slowly, agonisingly slowly; he leaned forward. I didn't move back.

His nose pressed against the side of mine, his lips not quite touching mine, but close enough that I knew that any more movement, and they'd be upon me.

He stopped.

He had stopped so close to where I wanted him.

'Marion.' He whispered hoarsely.

'Do you want this?' He asked. He sounded so unsure of himself. He always sounded so confident, so sure.

I knew why he was asking. I couldn't speak, and he wanted to give me a chance to pull away if I didn't want him.

But I did want him.

More than anything.

I tilted my head forward, firmly pressing my lips against his. He understood.

I felt his smile growing through his face, as he returned my kiss. His soft lips pushed against mine, moving over them in such a way I didn't want them to stop. My arms tightened around his shoulders, and his own clung to my back. We kissed again, and again and again.

And I never wanted it to end. Not while I was safe and secure and cared for in his arms.

I wanted to stay like that forever.

We continued to kiss, bathed in the glow of the dying bonfire. My eyes fluttered open for a moment, to see his hair glowing in the red light.

Suddenly a flash of ginger hair filled my vision, and then was gone again.

That had happened before. I kept seeing ginger hair.

But, my musing had come to nothing, so I decided to ignore it. And there were far more pleasant things for me to be doing rather than thinking of strange vision.

James's lips moved persistently over mine, deepening the kiss. His hand moved slowly up my back to the place where my neck met my hair. Cupping the back of my neck, his fingers tangled in the strands of my hair, and my own moved to his black locks. He groaned slightly, and kissed me deeper. His tongue caressed the seam of my lips, and I opened for him, letting him explore my mouth.

Gradually, he started to pull back, lessening the pressure on my back and my lips. When he eventually broke away from me, we were both breathing heavily, and my eyes remained closed. I didn't want to open them, in case that had just been a dream. But I felt his hand graze over my cheek, and my eyes fluttered open, to see his glassy and heavy.

'Marion.' He whispered. 'I wanted to do that ever since I saw you sitting alone at the ball.'

That had been over two years ago. My heart soared.

'Will you do me the very great honour of allowing me to court you? Please, my lady Marion.'

I froze. Did he just ask that?

He wanted to court me?

Sir James Thorne wanted to court a low born nobody.

I pulled back out of his reach and taking the book he had given me in hand, I opened it. Realising I didn't have a pencil or ink, I looked to him.

He worked out what I was asking for and instantly pulled a pencil out of his jacket pocket. I took it with a small smile, and began to write.

 _But you're a highborn._

'So?' James said. 'Do you have an objection to me being titled? Is that not acceptable to you.' He teased. I knew he was trying to make it out like I was the one settling for him, not the other way around.

 _I'm no one._

'Well, that's not true either. Your name is Marion Brown, you are twenty years old, you have seven siblings, you used to live in Rault and Milton, need I go on? You have an identity.' He joked again.

I rolled my eyes at him, and he burst out laughing.

But when he stopped, he gently cupped my face in his hand.

'Marion, I don't care about any of that. I always knew that if I ever courted anyone, it would be because of the person, not their title or rank. It was something that annoyed my father to no end. I don't want anyone else, I want you. My lady Marion.'

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. I nodded my head in answer to his first question.

'Is that a yes?' He asked excitedly.

I nodded again.

His own face lit up like nothing I'd ever seen, and before I could react, he had wrapped his arms around my middle, and lifted me into the air, spinning me as he did. I held on tightly, smiling and not believing my good luck.

He placed me back down on the ground and kissed me soundly.

And I didn't pull away for a long time.

* * *

AN- Review?


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen.**

All night, and for the rest of the following day, my smile wouldn't disappear. I couldn't sleep until well into the early hours of the morning. My mind kept replaying the kiss, again and again and again.

My heart soared far into the heavens and floated amongst the stars.

James wanted to court me.

He liked me.

He didn't care that I was forced to stay silent.

He didn't care that I had no title or money.

He just wanted me.

After all of this time, two years after we had first met, he'd finally asked me. He had told me he'd wanted to kiss me all that time.

Two years he had waited.

For me.

I couldn't believe my good fortune. Even in the midst of one of the hardest times of my life, I'd found him again.

He had told me afterwards that he would be back early the next morning, to visit me. I couldn't wait. All I wanted to do was to relive that kiss until the end of my days.

It had been so perfect.

My first kiss. And it had been with him.

Eventually the tiredness won out, and I fell asleep, but my dreams were filled with a beautiful moment.

* * *

James was a good as his word and returned early the next morning. I heard his horse slow down just outside the house. My siblings had all woken up and left for the day, leaving me alone in the cottage.

Not that I minded one bit.

I scarcely had time to walk to the door when it was flung open without warning and James appeared, wrapping his arms around my middle and hoisting me into the air. He chuckled, spinning me round, before slowly sliding me down. I felt every place where our bodies touched, and I knew he had done it on purpose. He wasted no time in claiming my mouth with his own, kissing me soundly until I was out of breath.

He pulled back and held my face while I tried to get air back into my lungs.

'Sorry.' He told me quietly. 'I just wanted to make sure this was real. I hardly slept last night, for fear this was a dream.'

I glanced to him, and saw he meant every word. Indeed, his eyes had slight bags under them from lack of sleep.

I pointed to myself.

'You too?'

I nodded.

His answering grin set my heart racing. I thought he was going to kiss me again, but instead he let his arms drop, releasing me from his grasp.

'So, my lady. What are we to do today?'

I pointed to the vegetable patch outside that needed tending to.

'Of course, my lady. Whatever you command.' He said, his smug expression returning to his face.

I pulled his shoulders around until he was facing the door, and then gave him a gently push towards it. He laughed, but walked out of the door towards the patch of earth currently growing different root vegetables. He picked up a spade, with a large amount of swagger, that we had found in the basement, and began to start digging.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I watched him for a considerable amount of time.

His muscles shifted under his shirt, and sweat began to force the fabric to stick to him tightly. They rippled under the weight of the dirt he was moving.

I knew I shouldn't be looking, but I couldn't tear myself away. And I got the overwhelming sense that James knew I was watching and put on even more of a show for me.

I bit my lip and eventually went back to preparing lunch for the two of us, just some bread and cheese. I needed something to distract me, anything. I focused on kneading the bread dough, trying to look at that, not at him.

Keeping my head down, I ignored the sounds of the shovel hitting the earth. Just knead the bread. I had to put all my energy into pushing and pulling the dough. I did not think about him just outside the door. Do not think about how his muscles were moving beneath his shirt. Do not think about how strong those arms were, and how they felt when they were wrapped around me.

I finished kneading and shaped the bread before leaving it to rise. I placed it on the table, and covered it in a thin cloth. My back was to the door when I felt those strong pair of arms circle my waist. His chin rested on my shoulder.

'I would kill for a cup of water right now.' He whispered, 'You've worked me into a wicked thirst. This is all your fault!'

His lips pressed into the side of my neck. My eyes fluttered closed at the sudden contact.

'I believe I've earned a few kisses from you, don't you think?'

I nodded, still not opening my eyes.

He pressed another kiss onto my neck, lingering slightly longer than I was expecting.

I opened my eyes and held up three fingers.

'Only three? Is my labour only worth that much to you?'

I grinned, and reached forwards; not quite out of his arms. Picking up the slate and chalk that lay on the table, I wrote.

 _More work, then more reward_.

He chuckled into my neck, the vibrations going right through me.

'Minx.' He said.

He leaned away from me, giving me room to turn around and face him. We both stood there, frozen for a moment, before he slowly lowered his lips to meet my own. His hands tangled themselves in my hair, and I held his face in my hands.

I still couldn't quite believe this was real. So I wasn't going to waste a minute of it.

This kiss was sweet, and short. I almost pouted when he pulled away. But he only brushed his thumb over my cheek.

'Water first. Then I'll collect on the other two you owe me.'

I blushed a little, and bit my lip.

He turned and walked around the table to where the jug of water and cups were.

I had to shake myself out of the mood I was in. What on earth was I thinking! I had completely turned into one of those girls whose thoughts of men consumed their very being.

Exactly the type of girl I swore I would never become. Never.

I had to get a hold of myself. Just because a young handsome highborn was courting me did not mean I had to be completely obsessed with him, and lose my own personality.

I owed it to myself to be better than that.

Even if it was very nice getting all this attention from James. Very nice indeed.

I decided that I had to draw a line between what I wanted for myself, and what I was allowed to give leeway to. Being the centre of attention was rather nice, especially since I was a sort of outcast now in my own family; but I shouldn't let it go to my head. I could be sensible about this. I would be strong.

It was fine to accept James' advances. It was fine to embrace him, and kiss him. What was not fine was obsessing over him every second of the day, and not thinking about other things. I had a very long list of chores I had to do for myself and my family, if we were going to be living in the forest for the foreseeable future. We constantly needed food and water, and that was the priority, not James.

He finished the water, and walked back round the table to stand before me.

'Now, where were we?' He smirked. He leaned forwards and captured my mouth with his own, this time with more pace and desperation.

I wanted to remember all of the sensible things I had decided in my head only moments ago, but found I couldn't.

And kissing James couldn't really be that bad, could it?

The following two days flew by in a haze of happiness. James arrived at the cottage every day, and we would spend all day doing things together. He would talk to me, and I would listen, secretly wishing I could tell him about my life. We would wander about the forest, hand in hand, and every so often, James would try and steal a few kisses from me.

One time, we were rather pleasantly engaged behind a tree, his arms tight around my waist and his lips pressed firmly against mine, when James yelped loudly. We both looked down to see a little hedgehog stood by James' foot, with his spikes piercing the flesh by his ankle.

Richard gazed up at me and began squeaking something I couldn't understand. I blushed and picked him up before carrying him back to the cottage. Only later that night did he tell me that he was a little shocked to see me like that; and thought he was helping by trying to get James off me. He apologised to James, who told him there were no hard feelings; even if his ankle still did hurt a bit.

On the morning of our third day of courtship, I was making myself busy around the cottage. Many of the surfaces needed dusting, and there were muddy paw prints all over. I started in the girl's bedroom, moving all of our clothes and belongings into my carpet bag, the only one we possessed, so I could reach everywhere. In fact, most of our clothes needed washing, so I just thought it would be easier to collect them all up.

I had a lot of time to kill. James said he would not be arriving until later that day, in the afternoon. He had obligations as a highborn to complete. I wasn't upset. I couldn't expect him to spend every day with me. He had his own life to lead, his own responsibilities. Just as I had mine.

I finished the girl's bedroom quickly, and moved onto Richard's. His was actually very tidy, so I only needed to collect his clothes for washing.

Downstairs however, really needed a clean. Not only was there mud and leaves trampled into the floor, but also food crumbs and scraps. I picked up the boy's left over clothes, and pushed them into the bag, and began to clean as best I could.

The morning passed, noon came and before I knew it, it was around two o'clock.

I had just about finished putting the finished touches to the room, placing the washed pots back on the shelf, when the door banged open with no warning.

I whirled around, startled by the noise.

There, stood in the doorway, was a man.

A large man.

His clothes were fine and well made, and his large beard concealed his mouth from view. He looked around fifty years of age, or so.

But he was mad.

Very mad.

His eyes were wide with shock when he saw me, and his brow furrowed in outrage.

'Who are you?!' He yelled, his voice gruff with anger.

I stared frozen in shock.

'What are you doing in my hunting lodge?!'

I closed my mouth, as it had fallen open. Who was he?

'Well? What are you doing?'

I scanned the cottage, trying to desperately locate the slate.

'Just because I haven't been back here in almost twenty years, does not give you the right to trespass on my property.'

He took a step towards me, and I took a step backward on instinct. He looked murderous.

Panic flooded through me. Who was this man? Rose had lived here for the last eighteen years. She said she had lived here her entire life. So who on earth was this man?

'What the hell are you doing here?' He demanded.

I saw out of the corner of my eye my slate was laying on the table, and the chalk was next to it.

I took a step towards it, but the strange man took another step inside. His face looked even more mad than he had been moments before.

I grabbed the edge of the slate, and reached forward to pick up the chalk quickly. He took several more steps towards me.

'Answer me! What the hell are you doing in my hunting lodge!' He shouted.

My hands were shaking as I tried to write on the slate.

 _I'm sorry. We thought it was abandoned._

The man got closer and closer to me. My breathing increased as did the pure amount of terror in me.

I tried pointing to the writing, but he only stared at me.

'You better answer me!' He snarled.

I pointed again to the writing. He glanced down at it quickly, before looking back to me.

'Oh, so you think just because you can read, you're entitled to my lodge?'

He couldn't read?

Thousands of thoughts of terror consumed my brain. If he couldn't read, there was no way I could tell him anything.

I frantically wracked my brain for any idea of what to do.

I tried again, pointing to the writing on the slate.

'Tell me why the hell you're here!' He screamed.

I couldn't.

I couldn't tell him.

Not after all this time being silent. I couldn't go through another year of this. I wouldn't.

I remained stubbornly silent.

His expression grew more wrathful.

'Tell me!' He roared.

Suddenly, before I had time to react, he reached for the slate, and wrenched it out of my grasp.

'That won't do you any good!' He shouted, before throwing it with as much force as he could muster at the wall.

The slate shattered into hundreds of pieces.

I stared in horror as they fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

Then, he grabbed the top of my arm.

I panicked and tried to push him off, but to no avail.

His hand gripped my tightly, bruising the flesh of my arm.

'Get out! NOW!' He roared. He pulled me with a great amount of force towards the door. My feet dragged behind me as I was pushed forwards.

Tears began to cloud my eyes. I wanted to run away. I was so scared. I couldn't think, couldn't move.

He threw me out of the door, and I fell onto my front, hitting the wet earth with a great amount of force.

'Stay off my property. Never come back here!' He yelled.

I tried to breathe, but found it extremely difficult. What had just happened?

Scrambling to my feet, my mind whirred as I tried to decide what to do.

The man appeared at the door again, this time with my carpet bag with all our clothes in. He threw the bag at me, hitting me squarely in the chest. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying out.

Then, the man slammed the door shut with a mighty force.

I stood on shaking knees, and picked up the carpet bag that had just been thrown at me.

We were homeless. Again.

We had nowhere to go.

We were in serious trouble now.

I ran.

I ran as far away from the cottage as I could. I had no desire to run into that man ever again.

Never before, had I ever been so scared. Even when our village had turned against us, none of them had ever laid a finger on me. That man had actually grabbed me. He had looked so mad I thought he would kill me.

Letting out several shaky breaths, I attempted to calm myself down.

I had to think, clear my mind.

There were still several hours before sunset. My siblings were in danger. If they all turned up at the cottage, only to find that man there…

I didn't want to think about what he might do to them. What he had almost done to me.

I had to tell them. Tell them to run.

To find me somewhere other than the cottage.

But there was nowhere to go.

We were in the middle of the forest, miles and miles away from shelter or food or any sort of help. And I had no way of contacting them, at all.

Taking a deep breath, I thought about how best to go about things. This was not the time to become hysterical. That would help nothing.

But forcing myself not to be hysterical was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The panic had already instilled itself within me. The tears I was trying so hard to ignore were already building. The lump in my throat that was restricting my breathing.

We were homeless.

We had nowhere to turn.

Nowhere to go.

We needed help, desperately.

I stopped running. I was in a clearing near the main path. In one direction, Rault. The home we had been forced out of. And in the other direction; Milton. The place that had been my home before Father had died.

And here I was in the centre of it, without a home or a place in the world to turn to.

I thought I had failed my family before. But now, I really had no options.

I had no clue how we were going to survive.

No shelter, no food, no water.

We needed help. And none was coming.

James would never be able to find me wandering through the woods. Ella hadn't replied to my letter. Even Blanche had not answered when I got Alexander to call for her.

No one was coming to help

I was completely alone.

Abandoned.

I fell to my knees, unable to fight of the tears any longer.

What had I done?

What was I going to do?

The sobs rose in my chest, and I fought them down. I couldn't make a sound, no matter how defeated I was. I had one thing left to fight for, and by hell was I going to fight for it.

But that didn't change the situation we were in.

We were hopeless.

Completely defeated.

Silently, the tears rolled down my face.

We were helpless.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen.**

I cried for a long time. Sat in the earth, with the mud still stuck to the front of my dress from when he had pushed me out of the door, I was miserable.

I only had my carpet bag with me. There were things of ours in the cottage that we were not going to be able to get back. Thankfully, I had placed most of our clothes in the bag, ready for washing.

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I knelt and opened the top of the bag. I had to be rational about this. I needed to work out what we had and what we could do with it.

Inside the bag was at least one change of clothes per member of my family. The clothes they had been cursed in. They all changed into their animal forms at dawn, before they awoke so as normal they were wearing their nightclothes when they turned back.

I pushed the clothes aside. They could do with a wash, but that wasn't the priority now. They would have to do.

At the very bottom of the bag were my own belongings. The things I had taken from Rault when we had run. And those items were the same things I had taken with me from Milton. This was the bag I had with me at Madam Cartwright's, and even though I had left Milton almost two months before, I still hadn't really unpacked it. Between Father dying, running away and then living in what I thought was an abandoned cottage, I hadn't really had chance to.

There was an unused day dress right at the bottom, my navy blue one I had forgot I'd owned.

But under that….

Underneath, a beautiful bright green colour shone through.

My ball gown.

It was still there.

Two years after the ball, and I still had it with me.

A jolt of pain ran through my heart. This was the dress I had been wearing the first time I'd met James.

And now, chances were; I was never going to see him again.

He'd never be able to find me. I'd run too far from the cottage. Even I didn't know really where I was, other than I could see the main forest path a few metres away.

We'd had a grand total of three days of courtship, and those had been some of the best days of my life.

But now, it was all over.

All because that man had come back to reclaim his stupid hunting lodge!

Where on earth had he been for the entire time Rose had lived there? She had told me that she had lived there her entire life, and she had only just turned eighteen.

Unless he couldn't return….

The man had been wearing fine clothes, but he couldn't read.

That would suggest he wasn't a high born, but rather someone who had made a fortune.

And he had referred to the cottage as his hunting lodge.

So maybe he was a hunter.

But, there was no great money to be made from hunting. Which led me to think that he had made his money another way.

Eighteen years seemed like too long a time to stay away, unless there was some reason behind it.

Some magical reason.

It had been something that had played on my mind, ever since Springbloom.

The enchanter; the faerie who had cursed my entire family. He had seemed familiar. And particularly his eyes had seemed familiar.

They had been the exact colour of the eyes of the three aunts of Rose.

Which would make them….

Faeries.

Rose's Aunts were faeries.

They must have kept him away by magic all those years, made sure he hadn't bothered them. But now they were gone, so the spell must have worn off.

Leading to that rather horrid interaction earlier.

I slumped from my knees until I was sat on the ground.

How had I been so blind!

How could I not have seen that this might have happened!

Why did I not plan for it, have some place to go where I could meet my siblings if something like this went wrong?

I hadn't been prepared, at all. And I should have been.

I had once again, failed my family.

I pushed aside my ball gown, wondering if there was anything else in the bag that may be helpful or useful. That certainly wasn't.

But, there were no more clothes, only two small objects.

The first, a folded up piece of paper I recognised from home. I pulled it out of the bag and turned it over carefully.

On the page, was the drawing of Gwen I had found underneath the chest of drawers in our bedroom.

With the initials J.H scribbled onto the bottom.

Yet another mystery I hadn't been able to figure out.

I still had no clue as to who the mysterious artist was.

The back of the paper was blank, so at least maybe that could be useful for writing things down, as I no longer had James' slate to help me. I still had the pencil in the pocket of my dress. The book he had given me was still at the cottage, so there was no chance of getting that back. One thing that was of use in this bag.

But the other small object….

I carefully pulled it out of the bag, sparkling at me as I did.

The strange ring I had found.

Bronze with a small amethyst set on the top.

The ring that had mysteriously fit my finger, even though I had never seen it before in my life.

I held it in my hand, just staring at it.

There were too many things in my life right now that didn't add up, and I had no clue why.

Something was going on, something I wasn't aware of.

Between the faeries who pretended to be Rose's aunts, to the faerie who had cursed my family, to the reason why Ella and Blanche weren't coming to help me; something was definitely going on!

And everything that had happened recently, had led me here. To a place where I knew help wasn't coming and I had nowhere to turn.

I practically threw the ring back into the bag in frustration.

Why was this happening to me!

I just wanted to understand.

And I desperately wanted a way out. Some help, anything.

Tears of frustration fell down my cheeks as I sat in the damp earth, utterly defeated by the world.

I wrapped my arms around myself, as if trying to reassure myself of something. But it didn't help.

Nothing would help.

No one was coming.

Alone.

Forgotten.

Useless.

A loud horse whiny interrupted my thoughts. It echoed through the forest.

I stood and turned towards the source of the noise.

Coming onto the main path, was a horse and rider. They were moving fairly fast, the riders fine dark blue cape billowing behind him as he galloped through the forest.

His dark hair was visible from where I was stood. His dark, tidy, and slightly too long hair.

James.

It was James riding through the forest.

On his way to the cottage.

Where I wouldn't be.

He was about to ride right past me and not see.

I scrambled around, looking for anyway to get his attention. On the ground a little way away was a large fallen stick.

Without hesitating, I grabbed it and whacked hard against the nearest tree, making a resounding cracking sound. Pain lanced up my arm at the impact, but I ignored it, gritting my teeth as I did.

James didn't stop. He hadn't heard.

I tried again, hoping with all my heart. There was no way I would run and get there in time.

But I tried anyway. I left the carpet bag and ran, not quite realising the stick was still in my hand.

I had to get to him, I couldn't lose him. He might be able to help.

Or even if he couldn't help, he would be able to comfort me. He'd always made me feel something. Something I couldn't quite place.

And so I ran, my hair streaming behind me, not caring that I was covered in mud and dirt.

I ran.

I almost manage to get to the path, but the horse galloped right past.

In a very last effort, I lifted my arm above my head and threw the stick as far as I was able.

I watched with a held breath as it got closer to him.

The stick hit the horse square in the behind, and it reared up, neighing loudly as it did. James cried out and held on as the horse pulled to a stop, jumping from its front legs to its back ones.

'Hey, HEY! What's gotten into you?' He shouted.

I didn't waste a second. I sprinted for him before the horse could set off again.

James clearly heard my footsteps, as he turned around, his eyes going wide when he saw me.

I almost sobbed in relief when he quickly lifted his leg over the side of the horse and jumped down to the ground. I stopped running, stumbling a bit.

He had seen me.

I had found him.

My knees gave way. I had done it.

I fell to the ground before him, as he shouted my name. I slumped down, hitting the wet earth, and I felt the cold water seep through my dress.

I felt his arms around me, pulling me up before I really had time to work out what was going on.

'Marion! Marion, are you alright? What's the matter?' He asked urgently. I rose to my knees and opened my tear filled eyes.

His thumb instantly found its way to my cheek, brushing the tears that were running down my face away gently.

'Marion, what are you doing here?' He said, his voice gently.

I frantically tried to think of a way to tell him about everything that had happened less than an hour ago. But without the slate there, or paper and pencil; there wasn't really anyway I could think of to explain.

'Are you hurt?' He asked.

I bit my lip. I hadn't wanted to look at my arm since the man had dragged me. But I lifted my left hand, and slowly pulled my dress off my right shoulder, just far enough down to show James the bruise I could feel forming there. I hadn't wanted to look, but my eyes betrayed me. There was a large nasty red mark a few inches below my shoulder, which I knew would turn purple by tomorrow.

James' face went wrathful when he saw it.

'Was it an accident or did someone do that to you?' He asked quietly, his voice dangerously low.

I held up two fingers, indicating the second.

'Who?' He asked. I could sense the anger in his voice, the bloodlust.

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know who he was.

'What did he do? Is there…' He swallowed. 'Any other injury?'

I shook my head, and he released a shuddering breath.

'So what happened?'

Pushing myself off the ground, I stood and pulled my dress back over my shoulder. Then, indicating to James I walked down the path. He quickly tied his horse up to a nearby tree. I began to lead him down the path to the clearing with my carpet bag still left in it. It didn't take long, but James didn't say a word the entire time.

I sighed in relief when I saw it still there. Running up to it quickly, I found the small scrap of paper that Gwen's drawing had been done on. Turning it over, I pulled out the pencil out of my pocket and began to write.

 _A man arrived at the cottage. Said it was his. Grabbed me and threw me out._

I passed the paper to James. He read it quickly and then gave it back to me. He ran his hand through his hair.

'Marion, I'm so sorry. I should have been there.' He told me.

I shook my head. He couldn't beat himself up about this. This was my fault not his.

'Please, let me help. Tell me what I can do to help.' He begged.

I wrote, _Siblings._

'Where are they?' He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. I had no clue where they were, and I knew I had to find them before they went back to the cottage.

'Are they hurt?'

I once again shrugged my shoulders.

'Can you not return to the cottage?'

I shook my head. I never wanted to see that horrid man again. Ever again.

'So, where will you live?' He asked gently.

My head hung low as I shrugged my shoulders again. I had no idea about what I was going to do.

His hand found its way under my chin, and he lifted my face with such heart breaking gentleness.

'There's no need to worry, we'll think of something.' He told me, his lovely green eyes meeting my own.

I wanted to believe him, I really did. But in the dire situation I was now in, hope wasn't really something I had a lot left of. I averted my gaze to the floor.

Tears were forming in my eyes again. The lump in my throat got larger and larger as I had to admit to myself I had no ideas about what to do, or where we were going to go.

James' arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his embrace. My chin rested on his shoulder, as the tears broke free of my eyes. They splattered onto his fine blue cloak, and my chest heaved as I tried to breath. He just held me, showing me I was not alone. I clung to him fiercely, not wanting to ever let go as I cried.

'It will be alright Marion. Things will work themselves out.' He whispered, and rubbed soothing patterns up and down my back.

I began to calm down eventually, and lessened my grip on him.

He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my forehead, as he moved his hands up and down my arms, careful to avoid the bruised area.

Then, all of a sudden, he stiffened.

Frozen.

I pulled back to see what he was doing.

His eyes were wide, and his mouth agape slightly. Once again, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, as a small smirk.

I stared at him curiously. I had no idea what he was thinking.

He loosed a long breath, and let his hands drop from my arms.

He stepped back quickly, and ran his hand through his hair again.

'I can help.' He said quietly. So quietly, I thought I misheard him.

Tilting my head to the side slightly, I tried to get him to elaborate.

'I can help you. All of you.' He told me.

I still had no clue what was going on.

James ran his hand through his hair once more, as if trying to calm himself, before reaching down and taking my hand in his.

'You could live with me. At the manor.' He told me, facing me square on.

I was taken aback. The confusion must have shown on my face as James chuckled slightly.

'You could marry me.'

I froze.

What.

What?

What?!

I couldn't believe James just said that.

Blinking, I tried to drag my mind back into the real world, and not the fantasy one that clearly my mind was stuck in.

'Marry me.' James said again.

My mouth fell open at the suggestion. My heart beat sped up like nothing I had ever experienced before.

Was this really happening?

'Think about it, practically. If we marry, then you could live with me at the manor. You will never starve again, and we could easily hide your siblings until the curse is broken.'

My head was spinning, fast; too fast. I couldn't think. I was too shocked.

'You would never want for anything. Anything at all. You'd all be safe and cared for.'

I found myself shaking my head; more in disbelief than refusal.

'I know this sounds mad…' He began, and I snapped my head to look at him. Surely he must know that this was far, far beyond mad.

'Marion, hear me out. I know we haven't been courting long,' He started.

I cut him off by holding up three fingers.

'Yes, I agree, three days is quite short for a courtship.' He said. 'But you can hardly call our circumstances normal, now could you? And there are people who have even shorter courtships. I believe it took Christopher and Ella all of a night.'

I almost scoffed at him. Christopher and Ella were a particularly unique situation; they had fallen in love at first sight. Myself and James had not.

I pulled the piece of paper out of my hand and began to write on the back of it.

 _But we don't love each other._

James read it quickly, before looking me in the eye.

'I'm almost offended!' He said in a mocking tone. I only rolled my eyes at him, causing a small laugh to escape his lips.

But his laughter soon died away, and his expression turned serious.

'Yes, I am aware that we don't, but don't you think it might be a possibility? At some point in the future?'

I shrugged. I had to admit to myself that James would be an easy man to fall in love with. I just wasn't there, yet.

And so, I certainly wasn't ready for marriage.

'I realise that this is mad, but we don't have the luxury of time. You need somewhere to live, now. And yes, ideally, I would have loved to court you in that cottage for a long time before asking this of you, but we can't, through no fault of either of us.'

I took a deep breath.

'Marion, I like you, a lot. More than I've ever like any girl before. And I want to help.'

I still didn't like the idea.

'And I promise, I won't touch you. Not until you are ready for that. I won't stifle you, or lock you away, or dictate what you do. You will be free to do as you wish, and I will have no say in your life. You'll hardly notice I'm there, unless you decide you want me to be.'

I hadn't even thought about that, about the obligations of marriage. About the more physical side. The marital bed, children, all of that.

James rubbed his thumb soothingly over the back of my hand.

'You could decide that you never want me, and that would be fine. If, after your year is up, you decide you want to go home with your siblings, then I will accept that. We'll get an annulment. But, until you can speak again, at least let me help in the smallest way I can, by putting a roof over your head.'

Releasing a shuddering breath, I debated it.

I had no parents, no money, no home, and my friends were who knows where.

The man stood before me was the only one realistically who could help.

And the only one who wanted to help.

I liked James. We were courting.

And, yes, it was crazily soon, but we would have gotten to this point anyway, somewhere in the future.

We were just hurrying it along a bit.

But, there was one feeling I couldn't shake.

Guilt.

There seemed to be an overriding sense of guilt hidden somewhere in my heart.

I couldn't understand it.

I had no clue as to why it was there.

But something inside me felt guilty about accepting this man.

As if I was betraying someone.

It wasn't my family. If anything, me accepting James would be helping them.

So I had no idea who I was betraying.

The more I thoughts about accepting James, the more terrible I felt.

I was hurting someone, destroying their faith in me.

But who were they?

I tried desperately to ignore the feeling. There wasn't anyone I should feel that bad about.

And yet I did.

It made no sense. As did most things in my life right now.

Maybe I was feeling guilty about myself.

I had always imagined that when I got married, it would be for love. The man I called my husband would be the love of my life, someone I trusted and care for above anything else.

And while I liked James, I didn't love him. Not just yet.

Could I be betraying myself? Maybe I was feeling guilty about not following through on the promise I had made to myself about loving my husband.

But none of this was about me anymore.

I knew, right then, that how I felt, and what I did, no longer affected just me.

My entire family were depending on me to look after them. They were counting on me to provide.

And right then, we had no food, no house, and nowhere to turn.

But to James.

And would it really be so bad being married to James?

I found I already knew the answer to that.

Somewhere deep inside me, I did want to be married to him. Maybe in a year or two's time, but I still wanted to marry him.

So really, by accepting him, I was getting what I wanted just a little earlier.

I'd have more time with him, if I married him now.

I'd never starve or be homeless again.

I may get a husband who would grow to love me.

And if I found I hated him, hated being married to him, I could simply walk away.

The knot that had formed in my stomach began to loosen.

There was a way out.

We hadn't been abandoned.

We weren't going to be desperate.

Help had arrived.

I lifted my gaze from the forest floor, to look James directly in the eye.

His lovely green eyes were pleading with me, begging me to say yes.

His hand squeezed my own, gently.

'Marry me, Marion.' He whispered.

Releasing the deep breath, that I had been holding in, I nodded.

His eyes went wide.

'Was that a yes?' He asked, his voice becoming higher.

I nodded again. A small smile had formed on my lips. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best I could make out of a bad situation.

A similar small smile appeared on his own face. Gently, slowly, his lowered his lips to meet mine, in a sweet tender kiss.

It was over quickly, and he pulled back.

'Alright. We need to be married today. I don't think you'll like the idea of any of you spending a night in the forest without the protection of a house. You find your siblings, and meet me just before sunset. There's a small chapel in the woods near my manor. It's almost directly south from here, find the path to Arton. It's just off it, by about ten minutes, and there should be a small path to it. I'll sort everything else out. You just bring your family.'

I swallowed, trying to absorb all of what he had just said.

I felt his hand cup my cheek gently.

'I know, it's a lot, and it's been so fast. But don't worry about anything. Will you do that for me?'

I nodded. I was still unable to believe that this was really happening, but I wasn't upset or distraught.

I was actually a little excited.

'And, by tonight, you'll be my wife.' James said, the smile returning to his face. I was completely incapable of hiding my own, and I let it spread across my cheeks.

'My lady Marion.' He said, the joy evident in his voice.

I reached up and firmly planted my lips on his. He had saved me. He cared for me.

And we were going to be married.

His arms wrapped around my waist as we kissed, knowing that tonight, we were going to be wed. Even though I was nervous and a little scared, I also was quite looking forward to it.

We parted, and James gave me one last kiss on the back of my hand, before telling me he had to go and arrange everything. Assuring me he would see me that night, he gave me one last quick smile, and walked back to where his horse was still tied up. I picked up the carpet bag from the floor, making sure everything was still inside.

I heard James' horse gallop off southward, and turned to wave him goodbye. He gave me an over exaggerated wink, and I smiled. Then, he disappeared through the tree, leaving me to take in what had just happened.

I was betrothed.

To James.

I was getting married!

I was going to be his wife!

As much as I was looking forward to it, one thought clanged through my head as the sound of James' horse disappeared.

Alexander was going to kill me.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN- Whose ready for a wedding?**

 **Chapter Eighteen.**

As I predicted, Alexander did not take the news well.

I had found them all eventually. It didn't take quite as long as I had thought it would.

Once I had calmed myself down; once James had left the clearing, I began to try and think of ways to find them. I knew if I could find one of my siblings, they would be able to find the others. After all, apparently they could all talk to each other in their animal forms.

I picked up my carpet bag and slung it over my shoulder, before beginning to walk back to the cottage.

Even though I wasn't going to the cottage; I knew most likely some of my brothers and sisters would be around there, if anywhere in the forest.

It took about an hour to get back. I had completely lost track of time when I had run away, and hadn't realised how far I had run exactly. But just before I got to the cottage, I swerved right, and skirted around the edge. I didn't fancy having another encounter with that horrid man. So, I made my way down to the small lake that was a few minutes walk from the cottage.

Thankfully, Clara was there, floating on the top of the water. Her long neck was bent low, she appeared to be napping. Some instinct deep inside of my wanted to shout at her, to get her to wake up and fly away. There was a hunter a matter of meters away, and she was in danger.

But, I fought down the urge. The hunter was nowhere to be seen, and I couldn't break my silence. Not after everything that had happened in the past two hours.

So, I stood on the banks of the lake, and began to clap my hands. The sound echoed around the tall trees, and caused very small ripples on the surface of the water. Light bounced and scattered, illuminating the forest.

Clara' head lifted slightly, and she blinked her black, beady eyes. Shaking off her snow white feathers, she woke up fully, and swam over to where I was waiting on the shore. She waddled out of the water towards me, and stopped directly in front of me.

I reached into the carpet bag, and pulled out the one single piece of paper I had. Turning it over, I pointed to the writing that was already etched onto the page.

 _A man arrived at the cottage. Said it was his. Grabbed me and threw me out._

Clara tilted her head to one side as she read it. Then, comprehending it, she honked in disgust. Or at least that was what I thought it was; I couldn't be sure.

I pulled out the pencil and began to scribble. Then I held it out to Clara again.

 _Find everyone. Meet here in an hour. Need to tell you all something._

She nodded slowly, before stretching out her wings and flapping them wildly. She took off across the lake, honking loudly as she did. I could only hope that she was doing as I asked.

I sat on a dry piece of grass just off the edge of the lake, and began to wait.

There wasn't really much else I could do.

James was sorting everything out, I just had to turn up with my siblings.

Married.

We were going to be married

My wedding was tonight.

My mind spun with sheer madness of it.

I was getting married.

To a man I had been courting for three days!

To a man who I hadn't seen in almost two years, who had only come back into my life less than a month ago.

Nerves knotted in my stomach. I must be completely mad to have agreed to this.

What was I doing? How had it come to this?

I was marrying a man I didn't love, for security and safety.

How had everything in my life gone so bad that I had actually agreed to this?

I was no better than Lady Idiot, marrying for convenience and not love. I felt like I was betraying everything I had ever stood for, just by even contemplating it, not even agreeing to it.

Ever since I could remember, I had imagined my wedding day.

And not one single detail had ever looked like this.

In all my imaginings, the groom was the man I loved with all my heart.

Not James.

I would have months and months to plan every detail and get excited about it.

I had roughly three hours.

My mother would be there, talking me through all her memories of me as a little girl, and telling me how proud she was of me.

She was dead.

My father would be there, walking me down the aisle; tears in his eyes as he gave his little girl away.

He too was dead.

I would be getting married in Rault, surrounded by the people who had known me all my life, in the place I knew and loved the best.

I was getting married in a chapel near a town I had never been to before.

The only detail that remained the same was that all of my brothers and sisters would be there. But only in my imaginings, they were not cursed. And I was able to speak.

I still couldn't believe this was happening.

Married.

Married!

 _Married!_

Tonight, I was going to be married!

To James.

The charming man I had met at a ball.

It didn't feel real, none of this felt real. Between meeting my betrothed at a highborn ball, and almost being caught with an outlaw and hiding in a cottage with a girl raised by faeries, and then having my entire family cursed, and now being married to a man I barely knew, it all felt a bit like an fairy tale.

My life was simply insane.

The butterflies in my stomach just grew and grew.

What was I doing? Why had I agreed to this?

My family. I was doing this for them

That's why.

I would do anything for them.

And I needed to do something. I had already failed to look after them so far, I was not going to fail again. Never mind what it did to me. I would do anything to atone for not looking after them, like I promised my father I would.

I would do this.

And it might not actually be so bad. I liked James. And he liked me.

We just weren't in love.

We may be, one day. I would just have to hope.

That's all I had. Hope.

Hope that this would all turn out alright. Hope that I had made the right decision. Hope that I hadn't just made the biggest mistake of my life.

And all the while, no matter how hard I tried, I still could not shake the horrid feeling of guilt that had surrounded my heart.

And it still made no sense.

I still felt guilty about betraying someone, and I had no clue as to who or why.

I was helping people by doing this. I didn't think I was hurting anyone.

But it still wouldn't disappear.

And James….

How had he thought of it?

Why had he asked me?

I was grateful that he had, and had offered to help me.

But I didn't understand why.

Why had he asked me to marry him?

He didn't love me, and he knew I didn't love him.

So why had he asked me?

If he had wanted to help, there were a number of ways he could have do it that didn't involve tying himself to a desperate low born no one.

It made no sense for me to accept him, but it made even less sense for him to ask.

None of what happened today had made any sense, what so ever.

And so, I simply sat on the grassy patch, my head still spinning with the events of the day, just waiting for my siblings to arrive.

I eventually lost track of time. Too many thoughts flew through my mind, and I forgot to check the sun to see how much time had passed.

But, before I knew it, several animals were making their way towards me. A dark raven soared and flew through the trees, heading in my direction. An auburn fox ran at me, followed closely by a young fawn with a small mouse perched on his back.

Then, a squirrel jumped from tree to tree, balancing expertly with his tail as he scurried up and down the tree bark.

Finally, a beautiful white swan flew back across the lake, a small hedgehog tried to balance on her back, clutching her feathers with his tiny paws. She landed gracefully, leading me to believe she had been practising her flying on those longs days when I didn't see her. Her entire coordination had improved considerably, compared to when she had just been cursed.

They all gathered around me, expectantly.

Clara honked something at them, and they all reacted. Alexander began squeaking and jumping up and down. Gwen and Richard curled up, clearly upset. Daniel looked like he was trying his best to calm down Alexander, and Tom and Robbie simply looked down at the ground.

I guessed Clara had just told them the news about the cottage.

Pulling the scrap of paper out of my pocket, I began to write. I took a long deep breath before showing the paper to Alexander.

 _It's fine. We have somewhere to go. James's manor._

Alexander just looked at me suspiciously. He read it out loud, in little squeaks, and then stared at me, as if he knew there was more to it than that. He cocked his head to one side, as if to ask, Why would we be staying there?

With shaking hands, I turned the page back to me and wrote,

 _He's going to look after us. I'm marrying him tonight._

I stared at the words. I knew once I showed them, there was no turning back.

It hadn't seemed real until now, but I knew as soon as my family knew, everything would change.

Bracing myself, I let Alexander read what was written there.

He stopped, frozen when he saw it. As did Daniel. Clara honked loudly at them, asking them to tell her what it said, I guessed.

Daniel crowed something, and all the rest of my family also froze in shock.

Then, Clara began emitting some very loud noise I guessed was supposed to be a squeal. It really didn't sound like it, to me anyway.

The littler ones all began to talk amongst themselves, and then Alexander moved.

He looked like he was ranting. I couldn't understand a word of it.

But he did not look happy. Not at all.

So I simply sat there and listened for a good long while, not comprehending any of it. I knew once sunset came, there was no avoiding it. But at least this way, I didn't have to hear it for a few more hours.

Once Alexander had begun to calm down a little, I pointed southward, and gestured for us to walk towards it.

Alexander stayed firmly still.

I just bit the inside of my lip, and lifted Gwen up to sit in my pocket. Then, with one more gesture, I picked up the carpet bag and began to walk southward.

Clara followed me, as did Richard (who was still on her back,) and Tom and Robbie.

Only Daniel remained with Alexander, and it sounded like he was trying to get him to come along.

We walked for about a minute, when I turned around and saw Alexander begrudgingly follow us, his large bushy tail dragging behind him.

I did feel bad for making him this upset, but it couldn't be helped.

I was doing this for them. Even if they didn't like it, I was doing it because it would help them. It would put a roof over their head and food in their stomachs. I would be fulfilling my promise to Father.

I walked in silence, as usual, but my family were rarely quiet. They all chatted amongst themselves to whole way. Once again, I felt excluded as not only could I not join in, but I couldn't even understand them. It really was just me.

The journey took longer than I had expected. I didn't really know where we were going, I had never been to Arton before. I just knew it was roughly about an hour's journey by horse. Or at least if what James had told me was correct. Which meant it was probably just over two hours by walking, maybe longer. I just kept heading south, using the sun as my guide.

Unfortunately, it was getting on for late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to get lower and lower in the sky. It must have only been around six, by the time we had found a main path which I guessed lead to Arton, but the sun was beginning to turn everything a little bit golden.

Not only did the moving sun signal that the time was getting closer for me to face Alexander, but it also meant my wedding was fast approaching.

I was walking to my wedding, as silently as I would walk in a funeral procession.

And all the while, the nerves kept building up. Higher and higher they rose, consuming my entire being.

What if James had changed his mind? What if he no longer wanted to help, now that he'd had some distance from me? What if he abandoned me?

What if accepting him had been the biggest mistake I could ever possibly make?

I gripped the strap of my carpet bag tightly. My hand wanted to shake, but I wouldn't let it. I had to be strong. I had to be strong for my family. Alexander already didn't like the idea; he didn't need another reason to disprove.

I knew he hated it. As I would if our positions were reversed.

As I had hated it when he had gone out poaching to feed our family.

I couldn't blame him for it. I was doing what I could to help them, as he had done. And I had hated it every bit as much as he was probably hating the idea of me getting married to help them.

But I needed his support. I needed all of them. I didn't think I could get through the day without them helping me. I was a nervous wreck. I'd heard most brides were nervous on their wedding day, and I was in an even worse position than them.

Most brides had a family and parents they could talk to about their concerns.

Most brides loved their betrothed.

Most brides had the option of calling it off.

I had none of that.

The main path began to branch off into several smaller ones, and we kept walking down the largest one, until we came to an old sign post. It was rotting and decaying, but the letters were still just about legible.

 _Arton_

 _Rose Hill_

 _Arton Chapel_

 _Thorne Manor_

The one to the chapel pointed off to the right. Clara twisted her long neck to look back at me. Swallowing, I nodded. She moved her beak, in what I guessed was a sort of smile, and then waddled off down the path. The rest of us followed.

I focused on my footsteps.

Every single one got me closer to the chapel.

The place I was to be wed.

My stomach flipped over and over again.

It wouldn't be long now.

Before I knew it, Clara began to honk and slow down, as a small brick building came into sight.

When James had said it was small, he had meant it.

It was a tiny thing.

Painted white walls and a sloped tiled roof. A wide arch that nearly touched the sides of the walls held the door. A small bell hung on the top of the roof, covered by its own little roof. The front wall was only several meters across, and the entire building only looked like it could hold a dozen people or so.

The arched wooden door looked firmly closed, but there were lights from candles illuminating the inside, visible through the small but decorated colour glass windows.

I stopped and stared at it.

This was it.

The place I was going to be married.

My mind spun, and I briefly debated just turning around and running as far away as I could physically get.

But, that would help no one.

That would only serve to make us more desperate and vulnerable.

I had to do this.

For my family.

For myself.

I had to marry James.

Taking a large deep breath, I began to walk towards it slowly. The sun was almost down, and everything was beginning to darken.

One step after another, I approached the wooden door.

My hand lifted and went to the handle, as I slowly turned the latch and pulled it open.

The inside was dark, lit only by the few candles that were dotted around the place. Flowers lined the windows and hung over the sides of the pews. But my gaze was drawn to the person at the front lighting the last of the candles.

James.

He spun around when he heard the door open, a long thin candle still in his hand.

The corners of his mouth perked up, the glow of the candle illuminating his face for me to see.

'You came.' He whispered, more to himself rather than to me.

I just nodded slowly. I wasn't about to tell him that I had been debating running away.

He placed down the candle quickly, and walked down the aisle to me. Without saying a word, he took my face in his hands, and pressed a gently kiss to my lips.

'I'm glad you came.' He said quietly.

I felt a smile begin to grow on my face, when a loud crowing sound filled the room. Turning around, we saw that Daniel had followed me into the chapel, and was now stood by my feet, glaring up at us, his midnight black feathers shining in the candlelight.

I tried to take a step back, but found the door was directly behind me. James noticed this and began to open the other door I had walked through a little wider, before gesturing me to go back out. Blushing as I did, I stepped back to where all my siblings were waiting.

'Hello there.' James greeted them all. Clara gave him a sort of half wave with a wing, and Gwen squeaked a bit. Alexander simply glared at him. If he wasn't a squirrel, I guessed he would look murderous.

'Now, I guess you have some questions.' James said.

That was an understatement. I could almost guarantee that each one of them had at least a dozen or so questions to yell at him. I had many, many questions, but I wasn't going to get to ask them.

'When you turn back, I promise I will answer each and every one. But I'd just like to tell you that I'm very happy you'll all be my family. I'm very much looking forward to knowing all of you better. And if you want or need anything at all, I will sort it.' He told them.

My heart stopped. Did he really mean that? He wanted to be a part of our family? Was that why he had asked me?

I felt a small smile make its way across my face.

'Now, I believe it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the wedding day, is it not.' James said, turning away from me.

I was about to roll my eyes at him when I heard him say.

'And don't you roll your eyes at me Marion Brown. You know it's true!'

Clara honked what I guessed was supposed to be a laugh, and some of the other chuckled too.

I gestured to Clara and Gwen to follow me, and the three of us made it about five feet away before all of my siblings began to glow in golden light. The sun had set. I turned back around to watch as they all grew taller and taller until they were their usual size again. James had also spun back around to watch as the golden light disappeared and my siblings were transformed back into humans.

Before anyone could react, Alexander had walked right up to James and stood right before him, facing him head on.

'We need to talk, now.' He shouted.

James simply nodded and began to lead Alexander around the back of the chapel.

I watched as my brother followed my betrothed, a look of righteous anger on my brother's face.

'Shall we see if there's anything left to do in the chapel?' Daniel asked my remaining brothers. I knew he was trying to stop them from following Alexander around the back. Robbie nodded, and almost ran inside. Tom and Richard followed soon after. Daniel gave me a small smile before walking after them, knowing they would need a lot of supervising.

I turned back to see Clara and Gwen stood before me in their nightgowns.

Clara's face was ecstatic.

'You're getting married! Why didn't you tell us?' She squealed.

I held up one finger.

'Today? You only got engaged today?' She cried. I nodded.

'Oh, how utterly romantic!' She sighed. I bit my lip, I couldn't tell her that this wedding was the furthest from romantic as any wedding had ever been.

'Why can't we live in the cottage anymore?' Gwen asked quietly. 'I liked it there.'

'Because the horrid man who owned the cottage came back and threw Marion out. He's not a nice man.' Clara told her. I felt quite grateful that at least I could understand what they were saying now.

We walked for a little bit, Clara explained things to Gwen along the way. I tried to contribute when I could, but it was very hard to communicate without anything to write on.

When we were far enough to be out of sight, I placed down the carpet bag and began to push clothes aside. Then, my hands clasped around the one object I wanted and I heaved it out.

My ball gown.

And now, my wedding dress.

I stood and shook it out a bit, trying to get rid of the creases that had formed from being at the bottom of the bag for so long. It was still as beautiful as when I had first seen it, the emerald green silk shining in the low light.

Clara gasped when she saw me pull it out. She hadn't seen it since the night I had worn it to the ball.

When I had first met James.

No doubt she had made the connection in her head

'Gwen could you have a look around, and see if you could find some flowers, please?' Clara asked her.

I held up the gown, and pointed to the flowers that I had embroidered onto the hem of the white underskirt.

Clara nodded.

'Lilies, if you can find them.' She said.

Gwen nodded and then took off, looking for them, leaving me and Clara alone.

'Well, time to get dressed for your wedding!' She squealed.

I only wish I was as excited as she seemed to be.

I placed the dress down on top of the bag, and began to loosen the strings at the back of my day dress.

'I'll do that, move your hair out of the way.' Clara told me. She pulled the strings loose as I swung my hair over my shoulder. Then she let go and turned around, letting me pull the dress off, over my head, leaving me in just my shift. I quickly grabbed the ball gown and pushed it over my head. Only halfway through pulling it down did I realise in my haste, I had forgotten to loosen the corseted part of the dress, and I was now stuck.

My arms were high up in the air, and the waistline dress sort of perched on my shoulders, the skirt just brushing my hips. I couldn't see anything and was rapidly losing my balance. Leaning forward, I felt around for Clara. She yelped when I managed to tap her on the head with the sleeve of the dress.

'What on earth have you done now?' She asked, laughing. I felt the ties become looser as she worked to untangle them. The corset suddenly gave way and the entire dress fell down onto me, my arms sliding into the top of the sleeves. Clara tugged and tugged the dress down until my arms came out of the end of the sleeves, my head appeared through the neck hole, and the bottom of the skirt almost touched the ground. The rest of the way, I pulled it down myself.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the dress moved into place. I smoothed the skirts down as much as I was able.

'Turn around, I'll do up the back.' She said.

I obeyed, still trying to get some of the creases out. I felt a sharp tug at the back as Clara pulled at the strings. It wasn't tight, not as tight as it had been on the night of the ball. I had lost weight since then, we all had. Mainly due to the food shortages, none of us had been eating as well as we had been when the ball had taken place. So, consequently, the dress was a little too big. Clara tightened it as much as she was able, and I could feel the corset against my skin, but it wasn't pinching or locking me into place. It was probably for the best anyway. I never did like having to wear corsets.

As I looked down at the dress, all the memories of that night came flooding back. The dancing, the music, the ball room.

And James.

I had spent all that night talking with James and dancing.

Ella had come, entering the room and making everyone believe she was a mysterious golden princess. She had looked so happy when she and Christopher had locked eyes. Everyone knew right then how in love they were.

And they had gotten married for that love.

Something I wasn't going to get to do.

I liked James, I really did. And at least I was marrying him, and not a complete stranger.

But I didn't love him.

I swallowed down those thoughts.

I no longer had the luxury of thinking about marriage as something completely for romantic love anymore.

I was being practical.

And we liked each other. We were very fond of each other. And if things continued the way they were going, then we very well might fall in love with each other soon.

But not right now.

It would be alright. I would have to be. I had to be hopeful about this.

With one final tug, I felt Clara tie the bow in the strings at the back of my dress.

'There you are, done.' She told me.

I turned around to face her. She gave me a small smile.

'Look, I know something else is going on here.' She said. 'I'm not blind. You're not doing this because you love him, right?'

I swallowed. When had my little sister become so grown up and perceptive.

I nodded.

'I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. I think you get enough of that from Alexander. You're doing this for us, aren't you?'

Again I nodded.

She thought about it for a moment.

'You might be doing this for us, but I think it's also for yourself. I've seen the way he looks at you Marion. All those secret glances, yes I saw them! You look at him the same way too.'

My eyes went wide with shock. I hadn't known I was looking at him in any particular way.

'I think this will all work itself out, you'll see. I mean, just because you're not marrying him for love doesn't mean it will never happen? And I think you two are just as blind as each other.'

I didn't know what to think. Was she implying that James may love me.

She took a deep breath.

'It's your wedding day, so I don't want to make you cry. But I think if Mother and Father could see what you're doing, how you're looking after all of us, how strong you're being; I think they would be very proud.'

A lump rose in my throat.

Mother and Father.

I had wanted them here, on my wedding day.

Tears lined my eyes, as I gave Clara a grateful smile. She gave me a smile back.

'They would be so proud of you Marion, for everything you've done.'

The tears broke free and ran down my cheek. I reached forward and wrapped my arms around my little sister. I clung to her as I calmed myself down.

Gwen returned, her hands full of wildflowers. She ran up to us and flung her own arms around the two of us. Clara laughed a little when she felt it.

'I couldn't find lilies, but there are there pretty pink ones, and yellow ones, and these nice blue ones.' Gwen told us, holding up the bouquet of flowers in her hand.

It was getting rather dark now. The sun had gone, but the sky was still light enough to see by, but I knew in about ten or so minutes, the darkness would descend. Releasing Clara, I stepped back to look at the flowers Gwen had brought.

They were indeed very pretty.

But one set of flower in particular made my heart race.

Tiny little blue flowers stood proudly in Gwen's hand.

Forget-me-nots.

They had been in that mysterious vase that was in the workroom of Madam Cartwright's. And now they were here.

There was something about them. Something I couldn't place. They made my heart race and my head spin.

Forget-me-nots

Forget-me-nots.

'Why forget-me-nots? Worried I'm going to forget about you?

'No, I just thought they looked pretty.'

My head spun. I felt dizzy. Who had said that? I couldn't hear their voice, but I knew the words.

I stumbled a bit, having to throw my arms out to balance myself. What on earth was happening to me?

Blinking, I pulled myself back into reality. Clara hadn't noticed, and neither had Gwen. Shaking my head, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind.

I was getting married in a matter of minutes, I didn't need things like that crowding my brain.

I turned around and began to look through the carpet bag. Throwing their dresses to my sisters, I gestured to them to go and get changed. I wasn't having my siblings in nightgowns for my wedding.

The girls changed quickly and Gwen asked me to braid some flowers into her hair. I agreed, and Clara offered to do mine. So I sat behind Gwen, and Clara sat behind me, braiding out hair back out of our eyes, and weaving flowers into it.

When we were doing, I picked up the bag and gave it to Gwen, pointing to the direction of the chapel, and then I pointed to her clothes.

The boys needed to get changed too. She ran off happily, clutching the bag in her two hands. I then gestured for Clara to turn around so I could do her hair. I picked up some yellow flowers and wove them into her dark brown hair, securing the braid with a ribbon. It wasn't much, but it looked like we had made a bit of an effort. I finished just as it was beginning to get too dark to see by. Luckily, at that moment, someone carrying a candle came towards us.

Alexander.

He had gotten changed as well, and held the small candle carefully in his hand.

'It's time. Clara, they're waiting for you inside.'

She nodded, and squeezed my hand gently.

'Good luck.' She whispered, before walking past Alexander and up towards the chapel.

Alexander stood facing me, and I prepared myself for the scolding that was coming.

But, much to my surprise, Alexander pulled me in for a hug.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it's come to this!' He said quietly. 'And I can't believe that this is actually happening.'

I nodded. I couldn't quite believe it either.

'But, as much as I hate to admit it, you and James are probably right. This will help us. And he's nice enough. Not good enough for you, but nice enough.'

I smiled.

'I don't like this, Arry. But if this is what it's going to take to keep us all safe, then I'm very thankful that you are doing it.'

I nodded again. It meant the world to me that my brother was going to support me.

'And I've already told James that he has to be on his absolute best behaviour. If he harms one single hair on your head, he will have me to answer to.'

I smiled and pulled back.

Thank you, I mouthed.

'No, thank you. You're the one doing this, not me. And I will try my best to make this as easy as possible on you.'

I smiled. I couldn't contain it.

Alexander's face turned solemn.

'It's time for your wedding. Is it alright if I give you away? There isn't really anyone else.' He told me.

I nodded my consent.

'And you look beautiful by the way.' He added, and offered me his arm.

'Father would be proud of you fulfilling your promise.' He said as we began to walk to the chapel.

I nodded, blinking back the tears that had once again formed in my eyes.

We reached the door to the chapel, and I held on tightly to the bunch of flower's Gwen had picked with one hand, and Alexander with the other.

He reached forwards and pushed the door open.

The light from the candles poured through the door, and we stepped over the doorframe.

There was no music. Just the sound of my siblings all standing as I entered. I gave each of them a small smile as Alexander and myself began to make our way down the tiny aisle.

I tried not to look at the front, but my eyes strayed.

There he was.

James.

Wearing a smart black jacket and a clean white shirt. His lovely green eyes sparkled in the candle light. His eyes went a little wide as he saw me, his gaze flitting to my dress.

A smile spread across his face. I guessed he recognised the dress.

We reached the front, and Alexander relaxed his grip on me, letting me stand on my own. He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, before letting go and walking to the pew to the left of me.

I breathed deeply, as James and I turned to face the priest stood before me.

 _'Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today….'_

I stopped listening. I couldn't concentrate on what he was saying. My mind was spinning far too fast.

What was I doing?

Was this a mistake?

Why was I here?

Something brushed against my empty hand. I glanced down without moving my head to see James hand take my own. He gave me a gentle squeeze, and began to draw soothing pattern on the back of it.

I focused on that. Those swirls and whorls that he was tracing over my skin. They helped calm me, to reassure me that everything was going to be alright.

I clung to him. I needed something to hold onto. I think he knew that. James just continued to draw shapes and lines on the back of my hand, calming me down.

 _'Do you, James Thorne, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?'_

'I do.' James answered confidently.

My heart raced. This was it.

 _'Do you, Marion Brown, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish and obey, for as long as you both shall live?'_

I opened my mouth to answer, but quickly shut it again.

I couldn't speak. Not at all.

Not even to say I do.

Swallowing, I nodded slowly.

The priest stopped and stared at me.

'Do you?' He asked quietly.

I nodded again.

He looked puzzled.

'She's mute. She can't speak.' James told the priest quietly.

The priest only shook his head.

'I can't take a nod as a confirmation of holy vows. She needs to say it.' He told us.

My blood ran cold. Was this really happening. I couldn't marry James because I couldn't speak.

'Will written confirmation do?' James asked.

The priest thought about it for a moment, before nodding.

'I'm sorry, I need verbal confirmation of that please!' James teased him.

I smirked. Several of my siblings chuckled a little. The priest turned bright red, and stood waiting. James moved to the side of the chapel, where a small chest lay under one of the pews. Opening the lid slightly, he pulled out a book and ripped one of the blank pages out of the back.

'You can't do that!' The priest cried.

'Well, I just did.' James told him, continuing to rummage around in the chest.

I smiled. This was the man I was marrying.

James stood up and produced a quill and some ink. He passed them to me, and gestured to the altar that was behind the priest. I took them and dipped the quill into the midnight black ink. Without hesitating, I wrote.

 _I, Marion Brown, take James Thorne as my lawful wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, for as long as we both shall live._

I picked it up and passed it to a very annoyed looking priest. He glanced over it before looking up at me.

'And to obey. It is customary for the bride to vow to obey.' He said in a smug tone of voice, one I did not care for.

I glared at him.

'That won't be necessary.' James demanded. 'If anything, I should be vowing to obey her.'

A small clap resounded from behind us, and all three of us turned to see Clara beaming and clapping. I smiled again, and James gave her a small bow.

We turned back to the priest, who was now almost purple in the face.

'Please, continue.' James said.

'She's not going to vow to obey?' The priest asked again, implying that no wasn't an answer.

This man clearly did not know James then.

'No, she is not.' James told him, forcefully. 'Please continue.'

The priest simply sighed, and went back to reading from the book.

'By the symbol of a ring, you hereby show your everlasting vow made here today. James, would you place this ring on Marion's finger, as a sign of your eternal promise.'

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Robbie stand up, holding a small cushion containing two rings. James took the small one from the top, and gave Robbie a cheeky smile. He turned back to me, and took a hold of my left hand carefully. Our eyes met as he slid the small golden band around my fourth finger. It was a little large, but it would stay on my finger. He gave me a reassuring smile, before lowering my hand slowly.

'Marion, would you place this ring on James's finger, as a sign of your eternal promise.'

Robbie walked in front of me, and offered me the last ring on the cushion. With shaking hands, I took it and lifted it off the cushion. James' hand was already before me and I pushed it onto his waiting finger, sealing his life to mine. I gave his hand a quick squeeze before I let it go. He gave me a subtly wink.

'As both of those before me have sworn their consent before me and these witnesses gathered here today, I hereby proclaim them man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.'

That was it.

It was done.

I was married.

I was James's wife.

He turned towards me, a large smile lighting up his entire face. I felt a similar one spread across my own.

His face lowered towards me, and I found myself closing the gap before he could get there. Our lips met and my arms went up around his neck. His arms circled my waist as we kissed. My brothers and sisters erupted into applause and I swore I could hear Clara sigh dramatically.

But the only thought going through my head was,

James.

I didn't feel like it was a mistake. I didn't feel guilty. In fact, as we parted and James's gaze met my own, I found my heart was filled with joy. Things were not as bad as they appeared.

And I had a bright new future to look forward to.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen.**

James led us all out of the chapel.

I was now his wife! I still couldn't quite believe it.

His Wife!

Married!

Just that morning, I was plain old Miss Marion Brown.

Now, I was James' wife.

Lady Marion Thorne.

I was a Lady, a highborn. I had married into a title.

I really could not believe this was true.

James and I walked arm in arm back down the path we had come down not an hour before, and all my siblings followed me. The younger ones seemed happy at my marriage, as did Clara. Alexander faked a smile, I could tell. Daniel looked pleased enough for me, but I wasn't sure that he completely approved either. Even Richard looked rather sceptical when he thought I wasn't looking.

I knew there was no turning back now; what was done was done, there was no changing it.

And I was married.

Married!

To James. The handsome highborn who had swept me off my feet two years ago at Christopher's ball.

I grasped my bouquet of flower tightly in my hand as we walked through the dark forest, with only three torches to guide us. James held one in his spare hand, Alexander held another, as did Richard. All nine of us walked down the path, towards our new home, that only James had seen.

Even though I had been happy at the wedding, as soon as we left the chapel the nerves kicked in once again.

I was married. There was no going backward from this point. I had done with what life had dealt me, and it was time to face the consequences.

James clearly knew I was conflicted about this. I was holding on tightly to his arm, but about halfway through the journey, he offered his torch to Tom, so he could place his other hand on top of mine.

'It will be fine. Please stop panicking.' He whispered, out of earshot of my brothers and sisters.

I hadn't realised how tightly I was gripping his arm when he gently tried to extract my firm fingers from his forearm. I instantly released them, not wanting to cause him pain. I had no clue that I had been that forceful.

But it was true, my heart was beating at several hundred beats per minute.

I had just married a man I had been courting for three days. Yes, we had kissed, but I was not ready for marriage. I was surprised James had even mentioned it.

I couldn't quite believe how much my life had changed over the course of a day.

That morning, I had awoken in a cottage in the middle of the forest, around dawn, maybe slightly afterwards. Then I had been thrown out by the true owner of that hunting lodge we had called home for the last several weeks. Then, I had been proposed to, and accepted a marriage offer. Then I had gotten married, all within the last fifteen hours or so. This day had been one of the strangest of my life.

I had awoken, with no clue that it would be my wedding day.

We continued to walk, through some part of the forest I had never seen before. I hadn't really had much reason to go anywhere, other than to Milton. I had never been to the village of Arton, the place I had just got married in. But James confidently lead the way, all of my siblings trailing behind us.

'Don't worry. Everything's taken care of.' James whispered, squeezing the top of my hand slightly.

Before I knew it, we were making our way down a stone path. The gravel crunched beneath my feet as we approached what I guessed was James's home. I kept my gaze firmly ahead, determined I would not be overawed at the sight of my new home.

But when it came into view….

Four large pillars rose from the ground before me. The entire building was made of lovely grey granite stone, stood proud before me. One large window either side of the middle two pillars, allowing light to penetrate those front two rooms. The pillars rose higher until they reached the roof above the second floor. A line of a small stone wall served as a guard on the balcony on the front of the second floor; running across the pillars like a long river. The areas that fell outside where the pillars grew were further back than the rest of the building, allowing more rooms to be built either side. A large patio area spread across the left hand side of the building, with a small stone wall around the entire thing.

This was James's house?

He lived here?

It was so grand!

I had spent my entire life living in a small cottage of four rooms, followed by an apartment of two rooms, then that tiny hunting lodge. It had never occurred to me for one second that I could possibly ever live in a house this large. I knew he lived in a manor, but I was still blown away by the size of it!

James didn't falter a single step; he'd had his entire life to get used to living in such a place.

We, Browns, had not.

All of us held back a little bit as we beheld the building before us.

This is where we were to live?

I couldn't quite believe it.

James however, completely avoided the front door, but instead made his way around the right hand side of the building, leading all my siblings as he walked. There were extensive gardens on this side of the house as well.

I knew I should not be surprised by any of this. I had worked at a Manor house for over three years, so I knew how the nobility lived. But even Ella's mansion had not prepared me for this.

We skirted around the back of the house, and eventually came to a small wooden door on the south west side of the manor house. James opened it without any difficulty, and lead all my siblings up the staircase that stood there. I waited until all of my brothers and sisters had made it up the spiral staircase.

Then, I joined them. Walking behind Richard, I made my way up the well-worn stairs to the top of the spiral. There was a small wooden door, propped open at the top. Stepping inside, I saw what James at prepared.

A large long dormitory for all of my siblings.

Eight beds lined the walls; four of the left, four on the right. Each bed had a small but functional bedside table on their left hand side. By the time I had made it upstairs, James was already distributing sheets and blankets to my family.

'One sheet, one blanket, and one pillow each. Sorry, it was all I could find on short notice.' He told them.

My mouth dropped open when I saw it.

I was perfect.

Somewhere to hide my family while they were still cursed.

They each had a roof over their heads, and a bed, which is more than what I could do for them in the cottage anyway. The boys had spent just under a month sleeping in hammocks, because I couldn't provide them with a bed.

And James had. He was helping them, even handing out sheet and blankets; something I never thought I would ever see highborn's do.

'Sorry, I didn't make your beds. I was supposed to, but there was just too much to do today. I got as far as moving the beds to this room.' James told Alexander. Alexander nodded, and Daniel assured James that every member of the Brown family knew how to make a bed. James just nodded.

I found myself frozen, watching the scene before me.

James had done all of this for us.

For me.

He had done exactly what he had promised.

And I was so grateful that he had.

So unbelievably grateful.

What he was doing for my family, it was no small thing.

He had saved us, well and truly.

He had really saved us.

'This is the attic. Only two doors; that one you just came through will lead you directly back outside. I would suggest using that door when you turn back to animals. The other one, over here,' he said, gesturing to a small door behind him, 'leads to the main house. It will be locked at most time. Only myself and Marion will have a key. I don't want either of the servants accidentally finding their way up here. You shouldn't see them very much, if at all. If you need anything, I imagine Marion will visit you after sunset, won't you?' James said, looking to me.

I nodded vigorously.

'One of us will bring up food shortly after sunset every night. I wasn't sure if you eat breakfast before dawn or not? If you do, I'll arrange something?'

'No, we don't.' Alexander told him. 'None of us are usually awake. We find our own food throughout the day.'

James nodded.

'Good. Well, if there is anything else, don't hesitate to ask.' He told them.

'Can I have a more cake? Like the one you gave me for my birthday?' Robbie asked, running up to James.

I smiled, and James laughed.

'Of course you can, you can have cake after supper every night. But not tonight. I haven't made any yet, and by the time it's made, you'll be asleep. Tomorrow, I promise.' James said.

'Can I have cake too?' Gwen asked excitedly.

'And me?' Said Tom.

James nodded at all of them.

'There will be enough cake for everyone.' James assured them all.

Robbie and Tom began to whisper excitedly. Gwen let out a large yawn, her eyes scrunching up with the force of it. Clara smiled, and moved to direct Gwen to behind the changing screen in the corner of the room, her nightgown in hand.

'I think, on that note, we should all get to bed. It's been a long day.' Alexander said. Various nods came from my family, and I felt James move so he was stood behind me.

His head moved so that lips were almost caressing my ear, almost.

'I brought you a bed up here. I didn't know if you wanted to stay up here with your family. But there is the mistress's room prepared, where you should be. It's entirely your choice where you would like to sleep.' He whispered softly in my ear. A shiver ran down my spine.

He was giving me choice?

I thought he would have demanded I be the lady I now was. But, if that display at our wedding had been anything to go by, how he had stood up for me when I wouldn't vow to obey, then I really should have expected this.

I could stay here with my siblings, or I could have my own room.

The mistress's room!

I was the mistress of this grand manor house!

My interest had been peaked, I wanted to know what it looked like; if it was as grand as the rest of the house appeared to be.

I held up two fingers, indicating the second option. James straightened up, and a saw a small grin light up his face.

'Very good, my lady Marion.' He said quietly.

It was then it struck me.

My lady Marion.

I was now his lady Marion.

What he had called me two years ago, what he had teased me with; it had come true.

His Lady Marion.

I smiled, and began to wave to my siblings. Richard saw, and told the other's I was leaving.

There were several cries of goodnight, but Alexander simply stared at me.

No, not at me; James.

His expression was serious, his jawline set.

James gave him a small nod, with an equally serious expression on his face. Clearly, they were both acknowledging something that had passed between them when they had spoken just before the wedding.

I tried to give Alexander a smile, but he didn't react.

'Goodnight.' James told all of them, and then let me lead the two of us down the stairs we had just come up.

I walked quickly, concentrating on not tripping over my dress. I had to hold it up in front of me to stop the hem getting in the way of my steps. We reached the bottom, and James pulled the door towards him, not quite shutting it entirely, but closed enough that if anyone saw it, it would appear to be shut.

Then, he took the lead, walking me back around to the front of the house. Our footsteps resounded on the gravel and the cold night wind blew across us, chilling me, despite the large dress I was wearing. James didn't look phased at all. After all, this was his home.

We passed the corner of the house, and the front came into view, those four large pillars. We quickly made our way to the front door, I was getting rather cold now. James opened the door with no difficulty, and led me inside.

It was dark, only one or two candles were lit. But from what I could see, we were stood in a large entrance hall, with a staircase before us. I couldn't see what objects or furnishing were in the room, but I didn't have time to look, as James lit another candle and began to walk up the stairs. I followed, not wanting to get lost. We walked up the main staircase, until it split into two at the top, and we went left. There was a long corridor parallel to the main staircase, which had several large wooden doors at regular intervals along it. James went left again and stopped at the last door on the row. There was one final door perpendicular to the row, which I guessed was the front, and probably main bedroom.

The master room.

James's room.

I was in the one next to it, the mistress's room. James pushed the door open, and gestured for me to go inside.

Candlelight flooded the room. The scents from which swirled and danced around the room, filling my nose.

It was beautiful.

The walls were painted a light shade of yellow, it almost seemed golden in the candlelight. Directly in front of me, was a large four poster bed, with a dark red canopy and curtains. To my left, a large window, with the same curtains drawn across it. On my right, a wardrobe and a small but intricate writing desk, complete with paper and quill already. The room was larger than the entire upstairs had been of that hunting lodge, it was huge! On the same side of the room that I was currently standing it, there was another door, almost identical to the one I was standing in the doorframe of. I guessed that led to the master's room.

There were candles everywhere. In the walls, on the desk. Anywhere where there was a flat surface to place them on, there were candles.

My mouth had unconsciously fallen open when I saw it. Walking a few steps inside, I surveyed my new surroundings.

How had my life changed so much over one day?

I turned around slowly, to see James leaning against the door frame, his usual smug expression on his face.

'Like it?' He asked.

I closed my mouth, and nodded.

'I'm glad. If there's anything you don't like, feel free to change it. It's yours to do with as you please now.' He said.

I walked over quickly to the desk, and picked up the quill and paper.

 _I have no money to do anything._

Picking up the paper, I turned around to pass it to James, but much to my surprise, he had silently made his way behind me, and was reading it over my shoulder. I jumped when I noticed him, but he only chuckled a little.

'Yes you do. We're married. My money is now your money.'

 _Dangerous thing to tell me._

He laughed.

'Well, I trust you. Are you saying I shouldn't?'

 _Maybe not. You don't know my secret evil plans…_

His head tipped back as he released a laugh. The sound was lovely, as it fell from his lips. I found myself smiling, without even thinking about it.

'I hope that one day, you will let me know those evil plans. But, for now, I best let you sleep. You've had a long day.' He told me. 'There's nightgowns in the wardrobe.'

I nodded, and he gave me a small smile, before stepping backwards and grasping hold of my hand. He gently lifted it so his lips could brush against it, before releasing me. Heat rose in my cheeks. He gave me one last smile and then turned around, ready to go out of the door.

But, I caught his hand.

He turned back puzzled.

I felt embarrassed that I had to ask this of him, but there wasn't anyone else around.

I turned my back on him, and pointed to the back of my dress. Specifically, the strings tying it together. Clara had helped me into the dress, but I couldn't get out of it.

He seemed to understand what I was asking for, because before I knew it, I felt his strong fingers grasp at the bow on the small of my back. He pulled and it fell away. Then, he set to work pulling the string out of the tight lacing pattern it had been pulled into.

'Why women have to have such complicated clothes, I will never know.' James remarked, as he continued to pull the string out, working his way higher and higher up my back.

I felt every place where his hands were on my body. Every small accidental skim of his fingers again the shift I was wearing underneath, his broad hand on the back of the dress, steadying me as he pulled.

I focused on it, unable to take my mind anywhere else.

He finally began to pull away the lacings at the very top of the dress, the ones near the base of my neck. I felt his fingers linger there on my bare skin for slightly too long, too long to be purely accidental.

I tried to not think about it. Tried so hard to think of anything else. But I simply couldn't.

The string fell out of the last hole, and dropped to the ground. I heard the gentle thump.

James didn't move for a few moments. Neither did I. My blood rushed to my cheeks, and there was such roaring in my ears.

I was stood in front of my husband, my dress undone at the back, so my shift was visible.

Dragging myself back into reality, I turned around. The front of the dress still rested on my shoulders, it just was quite loose around my waist.

I met his stare. There was definitely something there, something I couldn't place.

I mouthed _Thank you_ , and James blinked and broke his stare. Realising he had been frozen, he took a step backward, and quickly made his way to the second door.

He opened it, and stepped through, not saying another word, and closed the door firmly behind him.

I simply stood there.

Had that just happened?

What had he been thinking?

What if…If he had been expecting...

He had promised me he wouldn't touch me, not unless I had said I wanted that.

But it was our wedding night.

What if he had been expecting that something happen?

It would be very easy for him to break his promise, especially now we were married. It had been done, he technically could break his word.

I didn't want to think about it.

This was James.

He would never…

Shaking my head, I put a stop to those horrid thoughts flying though my head. James would not do that, ever.

I let the dress drop off my shoulders, and stepped out of it. Quickly, I made my way across to the wardrobe and pulled it open. As James had said, there were nightgowns hanging up, as well as an assortment of other dresses. Day dresses, far more fancy than I was used to wearing.

Highborn dresses.

I would look at them tomorrow, in the daylight.

I pulled out the first nightgown I could see and got changed quickly. It was a simple one, just plain white. The neckline was a wide U shape, and it had no sleeves; just two wide straps served to keep it on my shoulders. It fell to the floor, and there was a small ribbon sown into the fabric, higher than my waist line, which could be tied, making the nightgown fit better. I tied it quickly into a bow.

Then I picked up my Ball gown and laid it to rest on the back of the chair, the one at the writing desk. I would have to find space for it tomorrow. I pulled the ribbon out of my hair and let the braid drop. My hair had curled slightly and I pulled the small flowers out of it, placing them carefully on the desk. I also took off my wedding ring. It was too large for my finger, and I didn't want to lose it in the sheets. Opening a small drawer on the desk made for keeping quills and ink, I placed the ring inside.

Climbing onto the large bed, I wrapped the covers and blankets around me. They were so soft and smooth, so much nicer than I had been used to. It reminded me of when I had stayed at the palace, it had felt like sleeping on a cloud.

This was my bed now, for the foreseeable future! I had this level of luxury to look forward to.

My head fell back onto the pillows. My hair spread across it, fanning out. I couldn't contain my smile; this was all mine!

A sharp knock sounded at the door, and I jumped up, startled.

My head turned towards the source of the sound. It had come from the other door, the one that lead to James's room.

I slid out of the bed, and made my way towards it. What did he want?

My hand rested on the handle, and I breathed deeply, before pulling it open.

James was stood there, smile on his face.

A smile that disappeared when he saw what I was wearing.

In my haste, I had forgotten to find a shawl, or blanket or something.

I was stood in front of him in just my very thin nightgown.

Although his smile had disappeared, it wasn't an expression of disgust or disproval that lined his face.

It appeared to be one of desire.

I crossed my arms in front of myself, trying to hide my embarrassment. He too was wearing his nightgown, but at least he had found a silk robe to wear over the top.

But, I couldn't help but admire him. My gaze flitted over his just covered body, and my cheeks heated.

I raised an eyebrow in question of what he was doing here, and he seemed to snap out of his daze.

'I…uh…' He began, not taking his eyes off my body. Then he looked up at my face, his hand shot out in front of him. He touched my hair, and pulled, and a small flower came away in his hand. I had accidentally left it in.

'I know I didn't say it before, but you looked beautiful at the wedding.' He said softly. My gaze fell to the floor. I wasn't used to being the subject of compliments, let alone receiving them from James.

My husband.

Blood rushed through me, heating me cheeks. I felt a hand under my chin, encouraging me to look up.

James gave me a small smile.

'You are though, you are beautiful.'

I beamed at him.

He didn't remove his hand for a few more seconds. Suddenly, he seemed to realise what he was doing, and dropped his hand.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. But I had an idea. May I come in?' He asked.

He sounded so unsure of himself. It was his house; he was probably used to walking in anywhere he pleased. But now I was here, he wasn't sure what he was allowed to do anymore.

I nodded, and stepped aside, allowing James in. I closed the door behind him.

He stood in the centre of the room, and combed his hand through his hair.

'I was thinking; you need a way to communicate with people. Especially when there isn't paper or a slate around. So I thought we could come up with some gestures, common phrases and things, so you don't have to write everything down.'

I started.

I hadn't thought of that.

But, it was a good idea.

A great one.

It would be like talking, only with my hands.

I walked past James, to the desk. Picking up the quill, I began to write.

 _That's actually a good idea._

James looked over my shoulder to read what was there.

'I always have good ideas, what are you implying?' He teased.

I shrugged my shoulders at him.

'I'm offended. I'm a very intelligent man!' He told me in a mocking tone.

 _Average intelligence at best._

He placed his hand on his chest, as if he had been mortally wounded.

'How dare you! I may not be as intelligent as my wife, but I think I'm slightly above average!'

I froze.

He had called me his wife.

His wife.

He had never called me that before.

I know we had only been married a few hours, but it still took me by surprise.

He had never gotten the chance to call me his betrothed.

His wife.

 _His Wife!_

I bit my lip, supressing the smile that threatened to spread across my face.

I reached forward to grab the quill again, but James's hand stopped my own, placing his over mine.

'Where is your ring?' He asked, staring at my bare fourth finger.

I lifted my other hand and pointed to the small drawer on top of the desk.

'Why are not wearing it?' He asked.

I took hold of the quill, and dipped it in the ink.

 _I didn't want to lose it. It's a bit big._

'Oh, I'm sorry. It was all I could find on short notice.' He admitted. 'Do you not like it?'

 _No, I do. It's beautiful._

James smiled a little.

'A beautiful ring for my beautiful wife.' He whispered.

I blushed.

 _So, this idea of yours?_

James released my hand and stepped back. He sat down in the middle of the floor, and gestured for me to sit opposite.

I picked up the paper, quill and ink, and sat crossed legged in front of him.

'So, most useful words first I think.' He began. 'How about 'James is the most amazing person I know?''

I glared at him, causing him to laugh.

'Alright, more useful phrases. Hello.' He said, and gave me a small wave.

That one I thought was obvious. I copied him.

'Thank you.' He said, and placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head a little. I copied him again. Then I picked up the quill, and wrote;

 _Thank you- hand on chest and bowed head._

'Please?' James placed both his hands together, he looked like he was begging. He even pouted his lips a little, and batted his eyelids. He looked ridiculous.

I supressed the laugh that rose in my throat, and smiled at him, before shaking my head.

'Please!' He said again, and intensified his attempts, batting his eyelids more furiously at me. I just rolled my eyes at his stupidity.

He smiled then, and stopped being so ridiculous. He thought about it for a little while, and then moved so his hand started on his chest, and moved it forward, and tilted his palm up slowly. 'Please?'

I nodded, and wrote down the action.

We continued this way for a good long while. I lost track of precisely how much time passed. But we managed to get down an entire page of common phrases, and actions to go along with them. I practised them with James; he was very patient with me. By the end, I was yawning, and my eyelids were drooping. James noticed straight away, and said that we should stop until the morning.

He stood up and offered me his hand, which I took and he pulled me up. I gave him the gesture for thank you, and he smiled.

'Sorry, I think I've tired you out. I should really let you get some rest.' He said. I only responded with a large yawn.

'Well, it's not quite how I envisioned spending my wedding night, but I thought this was rather enjoyable.' James told me.

I stopped.

This was our wedding night.

We should be…should be….

I swallowed. I wasn't ready for that.

I didn't think I'd ever be ready for that.

I felt the blood leave my face, retreating back down through my veins.

Was James implying that we should…

He promised. He had promised he wouldn't touch me.

'Marion, calm down.' James's voice sounded. I hadn't realised he was still standing right in front of me. 'I'm not saying anything. I am a man of my word. I meant what I said when I told you it is your choice. I wasn't expecting anything from tonight.'

I met his gaze. He really meant it.

I felt the tension that had been rising in me disappear again. Breathing a sigh of relief, I rose up onto my tiptoes and gave James a chaste peck on the cheek out of gratitude. I felt his smile grow through his face.

I pulled back, and saw James' staring at me intently.

'May I,' He began, in a hoarse tone, 'Have one kiss? Just one.'

My heart stopped. He sounded so, affected. I nodded a little, and James instantly lowered his head and captured my lips with his own. I was taken back by the force of it, the surprise, but James wrapped his arms around me securely. His hands spread over the small of my back, and my own hands gripped his shoulders. His lips moved persistently over my own, and I responded in kind. I couldn't get enough.

This man had save me. Had saved my entire family.

He had put a roof over our heads, and prevented us from starving or freezing to death.

And while our marriage was far from ideal, I had hope.

We continued to kiss, until James suddenly pulled away. My chest rose and fell rapidly, and my head spun with the intensity of what had just happened.

'No, no, no, I can't.' I heard James whisper, more to himself than to me.

I reached up and cupped his cheek in my hand. His instantly looked at me.

'I'm sorry. I promised your brother. He will kill me if I break my promise, won't he.'

I nodded. Alexander would.

James sighed deeply.

'Well then, I will bid you goodnight, wife.' He told me.

I smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him. He pressed his lips to mine, but pulled back after only a few seconds.

Releasing me from his arms, he took a step backward.

'Sleep well.' He said, looking back at me one last time.

I pointed to him and then held up two fingers.

 _You too._

His lips perked up a little at the corners. I only saw it fleetingly. He turned around and reached for the door handle, but his hand froze before he touched it.

Suddenly, he had walked away from the door, and back over to where I was standing. His hands gently held my face as he kissed me deeply. I was taken completely by surprise, and stood their unresponsive for about a second. Then, his tongue caressed the outside of my lips, and I opened them for him, wrapping my own arms around his waist.

Then, as quickly as it began, James ripped himself away from me, and walked straight to the door, threw it open and then slammed it shut behind him.

I stood their stunned.

For not the first time that night, I wondered, had that really just happened.

A shiver ran down my spine. He had been warm, warmer than the air currently surrounding me.

Why did… Why did he do that.

Did he have to restrain himself around me?

A small proud smile bloomed on my face.

It was rather nice to think that I was attractive enough for my husband to lose his mind a little when he was around me.

But what exactly had he promised Alexander? It had sounded like it was a different promise than he had made to me. I'd ask him tomorrow.

A large yawn rose in my throat.

I really was tired. It had been an extremely trying day. And my mind was still spinning from how utterly insane it was.

I pulled myself out of my daze, I walked over to the desk and blew out the candle that lay there. Then, I walked around the room, blowing out all of the many, candles that had illuminated the room, a little golden light dying with each one. I continued until the room was completely pitch black. There was still a tiny crack of light coming from underneath James' door. I could hear soft footstep padding through the room. It sounded a little like he pacing.

I slid between the lovely soft sheets of the four poster bed. They were cold against my skin, but so soft.

Cocooned in the cloud of fabric, I let the tiredness wash over me, letting my troubles slip away into the vast blackness of sleep. My eyelids drooped, and the darkness descended.

However, just as I was drifting off, I felt light fall onto my face.

I froze.

The light was coming from the direction of James's room.

Keeping my eyes closed, I remained as still as I could, even though my heart was beating so hard I thought it would burst through my chest.

Why was he here?

What was he doing?

My blood ran cold. He had promised. He'd promised!

Footsteps sounded across the rug. Shadows fell across me.

He was here, he was in my room.

I couldn't move. I was utter exhausted, everything felt like lead. But my heart would not stop fluttering.

I kept my eyes shut and my breathing slow.

James came over to the side of the bed, his breath just brushing the top of my forehead. The outline of his head was just visible through my closed eyelids.

I stayed as still as I could.

James moved closer and closer.

'Marion, my wife.' He whispered, the words ghosting over me.

His lips pressed gently against my temple, his thumb softly brushed over my cheekbone. He pulled back, and gave me one last stroke over my cheek.

'Goodnight, my love.' He breathed.

My heart stopped.

My world stopped.

Everything stopped.

Did he just say that?

My mind spun.

He just said, _my love._

He had called me _my love_.

James pulled all the way back and stood. I hadn't opened my eyes, but I could tell when the dark shape retreated, and the light disappeared when the door closed.

Had that also just happened?

Did James….

No, he couldn't…. He couldn't be in love with me.

It wasn't possible.

My love!

The world spun, my ears filled with roaring, and my heart wanted to explode.

He'd come in here because he had thought I was asleep. He had called me 'my love'. Did he not want me to know?

Did he love me?

I wanted to fly out of the bed, march over to his room and confront him. But I was so tired, and my head was spinning too fast. I was both elated and exhausted, and had no clue what to think. I wanted to just open my eyes, but even that was an effort.

Tomorrow, I'd ask him tomorrow. Maybe the madness of what he had just done would have worn off by then, and he'd realise that he clearly didn't love me. Not yet anyway.

The exhaustion had settled in my bones now, and it was taking far too much effort to keep my mind thinking things over. I felt the darkness of sleep surround me, beckoning me towards it.

Tomorrow.

I'd ask him tomorrow.

And with that resolve, I finally let myself drift off, out of what had been the most insane day of my entire life.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty.**

I didn't want to open my eyes.

I never wanted to open my eyes.

Completely surrounded in softness, it the most comfortable I had ever been in my life.

Strange for a cottage….

My eyes flung open.

A strange and unfamiliar red pattern greeted my eyes. Dark red fabric.

I jolted out of bed. This was not my room in the cottage.

I almost fell out of the bed, it was considerably higher than I was used to. The sheets were smooth and soft, not scratchy.

I was in an unfamiliar room. A very large and richly decorated room. The walls were painted a light shade of yellow, and had a large red rug on top of the dark brown wood floor.

The events of the previous day came crashing into me.

I was married.

This was my new house.

I was the mistress of this insanely large manor house.

Married.

I was married to James.

The handsome young highborn who had saved me and my entire family from starvation.

I grabbed the post that stood at the end of the bed.

Married.

To a man I had been courting for three days.

I only ran into him a month ago.

Blinking, I took a large deep breath. This had happened, there was no going back from this point.

I had married a highborn.

Sir James Thorne.

So that now made me, a Lady.

Lady Marion Thorne.

Lady Thorne.

I was a lady.

My head spun with how insane it all was.

I had dreamt of this. Ever since I could remember, I had wished to be a great lady or a princess. What little girl didn't?

I never thought I would actually come true. And certainly not this way.

A Lady.

As a young girl, I'd always had trouble accepting exactly what I had. I wanted more, more than the little cottage we owned. More adventure than what the world seemed to have planned for me.

How I should have been careful what I wished for.

I'd had my fair share of adventure. If having my entire family cursed and forced out of our home was adventure, then I wanted nothing else to do with it.

Lady Marion Thorne.

A highborn.

I had the same rank as Lady Evil and Lady Idiot. I was now an equal with Jaqueline.

I had money, and a house, and would never starve, ever again.

The smile had spread across my face before I even knew it had. I couldn't quite believe my good fortune.

I walked over to the window, and tossed the curtains aside.

Bright sunlight filled the room, making me squint. Once I could see again, I peered out of the window to look at the grounds below.

A long gravel path led up to the house, and met what looked like a main path through the forest. There was a large patch of grass lined with trees serving as a front garden. A stone patio area stretched around this side of the house, in an arc like shape, and was line with a stone wall. There were several stone benches dotted around the gardens.

Gardens, this place had gardens! They looked like they extended around the back of the manor as well.

I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Was I now the mistress of all of this?

A small resounding knock sounded at the door, and I jumped back from the window. It pulled me out of my daze I was in.

Walking over to the door, I opened it, but found no one there. Just a long corridor, with a large green rug running down the centre of it. I hadn't seen the colour of it the night before. In fact, it all looked different in the light.

But there was no one there.

I closed the door again, but the knock sounded once more.

It was coming from the other door.

The one that led directly to James' room.

'Marion? Are you awake?' I heard him say through the wood of the door. His voice was gravelly, still bore signs of sleep.

I nodded, but then realised how ridiculous I was being. He couldn't see me, not through the door anyway.

I walked over to it, and rested my hand on the latch. But then, I stopped.

I was still in my thin night gown from the previous night. My thin, and rather revealing night gown.

And while James had seen me in it last night, it had been dark. I wasn't sure I was as confident in the light. No, I was sure I wasn't.

I walked away from the door, and grabbed a new piece of paper and began to write.

'Marion?' He asked again. 'I can hear something? Are you awake.'

I placed down the quill, and walked back over to the door.

Kneeling down, I slid the piece of paper through the small crack underneath the door.

 _I'm awake. Just not dressed. No looking._

A muffled thump sounded, and I guessed it was James kneeling down to pick up the paper.

There was a moment of silence followed by a soft laugh.

'Oh, you take all the fun out of it.' He teased.

The piece of paper came back under the door. I grabbed it and ran to get the quill. I moved it and the ink pot next to the door, and began to write again.

 _How dare you, good sir? I am a lady. If you talk this way, I will never let you see me in a night gown ever again. Or anything so revealing._

I couldn't help the smile that bloomed on my face as I slid the paper back.

I had hardly gotten the paper halfway through the crack, when I felt James pull it from the other side.

There was definitely a reaction to that, although I couldn't quite tell what exactly it was. Something like a laugh and a cry. There was also a small thump sounded, and I had no idea what he was doing to cause that noise.

I bit my lip to stop from laughing.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, my lady. Please forgive me this horrid behaviour. Don't say you'll never let me into your sights again. Especially when you look so lovely.' Came the muffled response.

I blushed, and had to cover my mouth to stop a small squeal of joy leaving it. The paper came back under the door, and I almost leapt on the quill to start writing again.

 _Well, maybe if you say nice things like that, I may give you little treats…_

I was beaming by the time the paper went back under the door.

A loud cough was the response, but I guessed that was trying to hide something else.

'Two can play at that game, my lady. Just you watch out.'

I knew I was the colour of a strawberry at this point, but I couldn't contain my smile.

'As lovely as this exchange is, there are things we need to do today. If you wouldn't mind getting dressed quickly, and giving me a knock when you're done? I'll give you a tour of the house, after we get some breakfast. Is that alright?'

The paper slid smoothing back under the door. I picked up the quill, and wrote;

 _Yes. Don't forget you need to make cake for Robbie, Tom and Gwen. They will never forgive you if you forget._

I slid it back under the door, and stood up to walk over to the wardrobe in the far corner of the room. I heard him mutter, 'I will not forget' through the door.

The wardrobe was rather large, and I pulled back the dark wooden door and stared at the contents, my mouth hanging open.

Inside, were dozens of dresses. Mainly day dresses, but a few evening dresses and one ball gown. There was also a collection of night gowns in the right hand corner.

I hadn't been able to see them all in the dark the previous night, but now, it was all there before me.

These were all mine?

I had only ever owned no more than six dresses at one time in my entire life. Now, there must have been at least a dozen day-dresses alone.

I pulled down the one closest to me. It was a pastel blue colour, made of muslin. The sleeves came down to the wrists, with a small frill along the hem. It had a rounded neckline, with small floral patterns embroidered along it. It laced up the back, and the skirt would drop to the floor, falling straight down from my hips. It had been cut so that when the back was laced up, it would show the shape of my waist.

I sighed, and began to step out of my nightgown. Due to the low rounded cut nature of the neckline, there was no way I could wear my normal shift underneath this dress. But the whole point of a shift was to simply provide an extra layer when it got cold, or when I was wearing a nice dress, to protect it from my unwashed skin. I had worn one yesterday as the cottage was not very warm, despite the fact it was mid-May. It also meant I had to do less washing of clothes if I wore one.

But now, there was no need for one. So, I pulled on the dress, and began to pull the strings at the back.

They wouldn't budge.

I tried looking over my shoulder, but it was no good. I couldn't see anything, and I thought I had gotten the string all knotted at the back.

I tried for the best part of a minute, before giving up, and resisting the urge to huff at it.

Even though I didn't want to admit it, I was stuck. I needed help.

And there was only one person around who could help me.

I quickly took a tiny glance at myself in the mirror that was attached to the back of the wardrobe door.

I did not look presentable. My dress was all over the place, and my hair must have gotten tangled up while I slept.

I found a small hairbrush in one of the drawers of the writing desk, as well as a ribbon. Brushing my hair, until it at least looked half decent, I braided two small plaits made out of the front of my hair, and tied them together near the crown of my head.

I check myself one last time. The parts of my appearance that weren't my dress were fairly normal. As normal as I was going to get them anyway. I sighed and walked back over to the door that joined James room to my own, and picked up the paper and quill. I wrote a sentence on it. Then, I released a breath and knocked.

The door instantly swung open, as if he had been waiting. James smiled at me.

I gave him a small smile, and pointed to the piece of paper in my hand.

 _My dress is stuck; please can you help?_

His eyes went a little wide at that. Then, he coughed and nodded.

I turned around and waited.

'Oh, you've managed to knot it.' He said, pulling at it slightly.

His hands went to the place behind my waist as he worked to pull it free. After about a minute, I heard him laugh in celebration.

'There, done it.' He told me.

He might have undone the knot, but I still needed tying up at the back. I could feel the cold air running down my spine.

'Do I get a little treat for helping you?' He asked, his usual smug tone lining his voice. I wanted to smack him for being so lewd.

I gestured tightening the strings, and then pointed up, but he only sounded confused.

Turning around, I grabbed the quill again, and wrote; _Please tie the dress up._

He thought about this for a moment, and then boldly said.

'If you give me a treat first, then I might consider it. After all, that was a very difficult knot to undo.'

I rolled my eyes at him, but he only raised his eyebrow at me.

I mouthed _what?_

'How about a morning kiss, from my wife?' He asked.

I released a breath, at least that I could agree to.

Pushing myself up onto my tiptoes, I gently pressed my lips against his. My eyes fluttered shut at the contact, and my arms circled his shoulders. His own hands cupped my face in his palms, as he responded to the kiss. It was sweet and chaste, and before it could go any further, I pulled back, and lowered myself down to the ground. James groaned a little, but I only smiled and turned around, pointing to the back of my dress. He huffed, and began to pull at the strings. He was surprisingly gentle with them, not tugging like Clara had the day before. His hands worked lower and lower down my back, and I tried to seem as unaffected as I possibly could be.

It couldn't be further from the truth.

Every place that James touched me burned. I couldn't think of anything else. My entire being narrowed to the feeling of his hands on my back, pulling my dress tighter.

I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration. I was better than this. I would not completely lose my mind over James simply tightening up my dress.

James finished pulling the string taunt, and tied a neat bow just behind my waist.

But before I could register what was happening, he spun me around in his arms and placed a kiss on my lips.

I relaxed into it, letting the feeling wash over me. His arms were tight around my waist, and his lips moved firmly over mine, and I responded in kind.

Eventually, he began to release the pressure on my back, and I drifted back into the mortal world. My hands were clinging to the top of his arms rather tightly, and I instantly let go. With one last sweet kiss, James pulled back entirely.

'I'm sorry, I just had to do that.' He said hoarsely.

I simply raised my hand to touch his cheek, and gave him a smile. He beamed back, and then offered me his arm.

'So, would my wife like some breakfast?' He asked.

I nodded, and he walked me out of his room.

We made our way down the corridor, and then down the stairs into the main hallway.

It was just as large as I remembered from the night before. Doors lined the outside of the room, much like upstairs, three on the left hand side and three on the right. All of them were closed, so I couldn't see what lay behind them.

We reached the bottom of the steps, and James led me around the left to where there was another door under where the stairs split off the top. James dropped my hand to open the door for me. I stepped through the door and was greeted by a large and spacious dining room. A table big enough to fit a dozen people, made of varnished oak, sat in the centre of the room. A fresh blue colour was painted on the walls, and large windows lined the far side of the room, pouring light inside.

James gesture to a place that was set on the right hand side of the head of the table. He even pulled out the chair for me, and pushed it in when I was seated. He then moved to the corner of the room, where there was a long cord, dangling from the ceiling, and he tugged it twice.

Servants.

He was summoning servants.

I had servants!

I was no longer a lowborn who worked in a manor house. I owned a manor house.

Muffled footsteps sounded, on what appeared to be a wooden staircase, as well as some quiet giggles and hushed whispered.

The door opened as James took his own seat at the head of the table. I instantly turned to look at the two girls who walked through carrying bowls and pots in their arms. They placed them down on a table at the side of the room, and turned to face us, and then gave James a small curtsey. Both of them looked curiously at me.

The girl on the left was a tall thin girl, with a sharp and angled face. She wasn't very old, maybe seventeen or eighteen. She had pale skin and a lot of frizzy blonde hair. It was falling out of her white cloth cap. The front of her apron was stained with what looked like flour and other little splotches of food.

The girl on the right was smaller and slightly wider than the other one. She had a nice rounded face, and darker skin, complimenting her dark hair and dark brown eyes. Her hair was tied slightly neater than her companion, and was staring at me curiously. She also couldn't be very old, about the same age as the other one.

'Marion, may I introduce you to our household? This is Martha, our cook,' He said, gesturing to the pale one on the left. 'And this is Helen, our housemaid.' Pointing to the other one.

I gave them a small polite smile and a nod.

'Girls, this is Lady Marion Thorne, your new mistress.' He told them, gesturing to me. There was definitely a tone of pride in his words when he said them.

'M'lady.' They said in unison, and both gave me a small curtsey.

I schooled my face into one of polite thanks, but internally, my head was spinning. There were servants who were curtseying to me. They were curtseying to a low born no one.

But I wasn't a lowborn no one, not anymore.

I was a lady.

I wasn't even a Brown anymore.

I was Lady Thorne. I didn't even have the same name as my family.

Both of the servant girls stood up, but continued to look at me curiously.

I couldn't blame them. I knew I stared at Lady Kingston and her daughters when they first arrived the manor. I would have been about their age when that had happened.

'Good. Introductions done. Would you mind getting us some tea?' James asked.

'Of course.' Martha said. She walked behind the table to where they had placed down the things they had brought with them and picked up a teapot.

'Would m'lady like milk and sugar?' She asked, not looking at us. The other girl had busied herself by placing the bowls in front of the two of us.

I held up one finger to indicate the first, but she wasn't looking at me. She was pouring the tea.

'M'lady?' She asked.

I tried again, but to no avail. James realised this and said 'She would like some milk please Martha.'

Martha turned around slowly, with two cups of tea in her hand. She placed them in front of us. I gave her the gesture I used for 'Thank you.' It was the one James and myself had come up with it the night before.

'Excuse me, m'lady, but what are you doing?' Martha asked.

I frantically looked to James to try and help me explain. He caught my eye as he sipped his tea, and realised he hadn't explained.

'Hm. Oh yes. I'm sorry. Martha, Marion is mute. She can't speak. She was saying thank you.'

Martha seemed to be very confused by that. She looked from me to James, and back to me again.

'So, she can't speak at all? Not even 'Hello?' A voice sounded. It was the other girl, Helen.

'No, she can't.' James told them. 'But she has managed remarkably well without the ability to speak.'

'Is she dumb?' Martha blurted out, and then seemed to realise what she had just said.

I went bright red.

I was not dumb.

How dare she?

'No, she is not.' James said firmly. 'She simply cannot speak.'

'Sounds like she was the village idiot.' Helen muttered under her breath.

Looking down at my bowl, I went even redder. Is that what people thought of me?

'Helen!' James scolded her. 'She is not. In fact, Marion can read and write, and is very intelligent. She just cannot speak. I counting on the two of you making her feel as welcome as possible here. She's had a difficult few weeks, and this is a big change for her. Do I make myself clear?'

Both of them nodded in unison.

'Good. Marion, would you like some porridge for breakfast?' He asked me.

I nodded shyly.

'Two bowls of porridge please, Martha.' James asked her. She quickly ladled the porridge into our bowls. Once she had finished, the two girls asked to be excused, and fled back down the stairs.

I picked up my spoon, but just stopped and stared at the steaming bowl before me.

Too many thoughts were flying through my head.

Those girls had thought I was stupid. The village idiot. There were no doubt running back downstairs to the kitchen so they could laugh about me.

They didn't respect me.

They were going to tease me and make fun of me.

I swallowed.

The first servants I had ever had, and they didn't like me.

They hadn't even given me a chance.

'Marion?' I heard James say.

I looked up.

'I'm sorry about them. They didn't mean it.' He told me. 'They will get used to you. We all will. It will be hard on them. Just give them time.'

My heart stopped.

Get used to me?

We all will?

Hard on them?

James needed to get used to me.

What was that supposed to mean?

And what about me?

If it was hard on them, did he have any idea how hard it was for me?

How hard the last few weeks of my life had been.

I had lost my father, had my entire family cursed, been banished from my home, been thrown out of the one place we had thought we were safe, and then forced into marriage with him.

And he had the nerve to say that it was going to be hard on them?

I pushed my chair backwards, scraping the floor as it did. Then, I rose, and walked out of the room.

Time, I needed time to cool down. I got like this a lot. Father had always said I was too feisty for my own good.

Placing one foot in front of the other, I quickly ran up the stairs and down the corridor back to my own room. I vaguely heard someone shouting after me, but the roaring of anger in my ears blocked it out.

It was hard on the servants.

Had he forgotten I used to be a servant?

I knew what it was to be a servant. I was not rude to my mistress, not until she had proved herself to be a horrid woman.

And I was pretty sure I hadn't been rude or horrid, simply silent.

James expected me to them to get used to me? Like I was some problem they had to learn to live with.

Even him.

I was a problem to him. A problem he had to get used to.

I practically threw open the door to my room, and slammed it behind me. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I let myself take some deep breaths.

I needed to calm down.

But they had hurt my feelings. Hadn't I had enough to deal with?

Those girls might not know that, but James certainly did.

He knew. He knew how I had suffered recently. And he had still said he had to get used to me.

My head fell into my hands, and I focused on breathing. I was not going to let my temper control me.

There was a loud banging at the door.

'Marion? Marion, are you alright?'

I ignored him.

He had to get used to me? Like I was some painting he wasn't sure if he wanted to keep.

'Marion, please? Are you alright?'

I fought down the urge to scream at him to go away.

I couldn't talk. Not after all of this time. No matter how much I wanted to shout and scream.

I hated this. Absolutely hated it.

Hated that I couldn't speak. Hated that the servants were going to make fun of me because they thought I was an idiot. Hated that I couldn't tell James how frustrated I was.

And I still just under eleven months to go.

I was only half way through my second month of silence.

And I loathed it.

I wanted to be able to speak again. I missed it so much. I wanted to be able to be me again.

The door flew open, and James stood there.

I didn't look up. I only saw his boots out of the corner of my vision.

'Marion? What is wrong?' He sounded concerned. Very concerned.

I didn't move. My temper was still surging. Part of me knew I was being irrational, but hadn't I been rational enough? I had dealt with death and curses and marriage proposals while being rational and thinking about what was best for my family. Never for me. My needs and happiness came second to theirs.

And I was tired of it. Didn't I deserve something for doing all of that? Some small measure of happiness. I thought maybe James would be the one to provide some of that. But clearly I was mistaken. He seemed to also view this marriage as a necessary evil that he would have to get used to.

What he'd done last night, he hadn't meant it.

My love. Why had I ever believed that for once second?

I was a problem, a stone in his shoe that he needed to get used to.

Footsteps made their way over to me, and I saw him kneel down before me, and place his hands gently over my own.

'Marion, what is wrong?' He repeated. He tried to pull my hands away. When he met with my resistance, he stopped, and softly placed his hand under my chin.

'Please?'

I took a deep breath. I had to calm down, get my temper under control.

Lowering my hands from my face, I glared at him.

He was kneeling before me, a look a genuine concern lining his usually smug features.

'What is the matter?'

I stood and walked over to the writing desk. Picking up the quill, I began to write.

 _'_ _You'll get used to me'? I'm just an inconvenience that you'll learn to put up with? You must see how insulting that is!_

I picked up the page and turned back around, and saw James perched on the end of the bed. Reaching out, I almost thrust the piece of paper into his hands.

His eyes scanned it quickly, taking in the message that was written there.

His back straightened and his hand flew to cover his mouth.

'Oh, Marion. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that.' He told me, panic rising in his voice.

I remained unmoved.

'You are not an inconvenience to me. You very much are not.'

Raising my eyebrow, I silently challenged him. He handed back the piece of paper to me and I began to write again.

 _We married because you wanted to help me. And my family. You must see how that would make me an unwanted change in your life._

I handed it to him this time, slightly less forcefully.

He read it quickly, and then took a large deep breath. His head tilted upward to look at me, his lovely green eyes filled with sorrow.

Patting the space on the bed next to him, James said, 'Will you sit?'

I swallowed, and then took up the space beside him.

It felt awkward. Being so close to him, but so mad at the same time.

He reached forward, and took my closest hand in his own. I jumped at the contact, but meeting his gaze.

'Marion, you are not an inconvenience to me, you never will be. You are not unwanted.'

His thumb began drawing soothing circles on the back of my back of my hand.

'Yes, the circumstances are a little trying, but I want you here. I didn't mean it like that; surely you must know that. Things have changed. We will all need time to adjust. But it's not a bad change, not at all.'

I was torn. On one hand, I was still hurt by what he had said. And part of me deep down still felt like a burden to him.

But, on the other hand,

 _My love._

He had come into my room last night, when he thought I was asleep, when he thought I wouldn't know, and called me 'My Love'.

And the way he was looking at me now…

His lovely green eyes didn't shift from my face, not once.

'You are not unwanted. Not ever. You are my wife, for better and for worse. And I realise this must be a huge change for you, and I haven't made it any easier on you. But please, please, forgive me. I will be better, I promise. You are my wife, my equal in every way, and I feel terrible for making you so upset.'

My heart stopped.

Never before, had someone wanted to change for me. I'd gotten so used to having to put everyone else first that I'd forgotten what a nice thing it was to be treated as an equal.

Without looking down, I turned my hand over so it was grasping onto James's. His eyes fluttered down to where our hands were now joined, and the corners of his mouth perked upwards.

'Thank you.' He whispered. His free hand moved upward to cup my cheek.

'May I demonstrate how sorry I am with a kiss?' He asked, with a playful tone to his voice.

I bit my lip and tilted my head, pretending to think about it.

James chuckled slightly. Then, he made a move to stand.

'Oh, well, if that's a no…' He began, but I made him stop by tightly clutching his hand.

He beamed and sat back down, while I leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his cheek. His own hand squeezed mine involuntarily as my lips grazed his skin. Then, suddenly, his hand that was on my cheek pulled my face around so I was no longer touching his cheek, but his lips.

He kissed me deeply, his hand that had been on my cheek working its way to the back of my neck, and he pulled me in closer. I tried to smile, but his lips kept pressing against mine. Elation flooded through my veins as my husband kissed me in the bright light of the morning.

When we parted, James stomach began to rumble a little.

'Sorry, but you interrupted my breakfast.' He teased, pressing one final kiss to my lips.

I simply shrugged my shoulders in fake ignorance. He beamed, and took me by the hand, standing up as he did.

'Come on. The porridge will be getting cold.' He told me, and led me out of the room and back towards the dining room.

Where, luckily, the porridge was still warm.

* * *

AN- Review?


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

We managed to get through breakfast without any more misunderstandings. The servant girls didn't make an appearance for the rest of the meal, thankfully.

I wasn't sure if I was ready to face them again. I knew they were making fun of me and sniggering behind my back. But I tried to put them far out of my mind. I would have time to worry about them later, I wasn't going to let them spoil my mood again.

James finished breakfast before me, and when he saw I was done, he held out his hand to me, and offered to give me tour of the manor. He jokingly began to talk about the dining room we were currently stood in, how to get to it and other things. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, until he gave up, and lead me back out into the main entrance hallway.

It was a large room, painted a cream colour with a dark wooden floor. The staircase was the main feature of the room, starting in the centre of the room, and splitting into two when it was almost at the first floor, one branch off to the left, and one to the right; the branch we were currently stood underneath which held the entrance to the dining room. There was a much smaller door directly to the left of us, which James informed me was the servants stairs, which lead to the kitchen and their rooms.

We walked forward, into the centre of the room. There were various pieces of art hung on the walls and other objects that were there purely for show. I stood facing the main door, the one that lead outside. There were two doors on my left and two on my right. I made my way towards the first door on my left, but James beat me to it. He opened it, and gave me a mock bow as I walked through.

'This is the main drawing room.' He told me. 'It doesn't get used very much. It's the more formal one of the two. It only really gets used when I need to entertain.'

It certainly was fancy, and formal. Several intricate chairs and sofa were dotted around the room, all facing the centre, as if waiting for some phantom entertainment. Three walls were painted the same shade of cream as the main entrance way, but one wall was covered in intricate mulberry paper. Although it was nice, it didn't feel very homely or welcoming. I could see why it wasn't used very much.

I nodded my approval to James, and he opened the door and let me past again. I walked towards the second door, the one that was the neighbour to the one I had just walked out of, but before I could get there, James ran in front of my path, stopping me.

'If you don't mind, can I show you this one last? My little surprise?' He pleaded.

I raised my eyebrow in question of what was in there.

'Please?' He asked. I made a move to try and grab the door handle, but James caught my wrist.

'Ah- ah-ah.' He teased. 'I won't show you at all if you try and cheat.'

I huffed silently and crossed the entrance hall to get to the other side. Pushing the first door open before James could get there, I stood and stared.

Wood panelling lined this room. A large varnished wooden desk stood in the centre of the room, a chair in front of, and a chair behind it. Pieces of paper were sprawled across the desk, as if half finished, and there were shelves of books and pieces of paper on the two opposite walls. A small fire burned in the hearth to my right.

'This is my study. Where I have to spend most of my days.' James sighed. 'Sorry about the mess. It's the only room I don't let Helen clean.'

I took a step inside, and gestured to the open ink well and quill on the desk. He nodded and I found a blank piece of paper to write on. Moving around to the back of the desk, I bent over the table and began to write.

 _Why exactly?_

I passed it over the desk to James.

'Because, all of this is in an order, I promise. It might not look it at the moment…'

Looking around, I could tell that there was definitely no order to this room, at all.

'But I know exactly where everything is. And if Helen comes in to tidy it up, she will disrupt my perfectly clear and logical system.'

I gestured for him to pass the paper back to me, which he did without complaint.

 _You sound like a child who insists they know what they are talking about, even though they don't._

James almost snatched the paper out of my hand. He half chuckled when he read it.

'No I don't!' He insisted.

I simply raised my eyebrow in retaliation.

'How dare you, Lady Thorne?' He said, smiling and walking towards me. I smirked a little and moved out of his way. His eyes brightened with the challenge.

'It's not very ladylike to call your husband a child, now is it? I demand you take it back.' He teased.

I defiantly shook my head.

'Well then…' He said, and darted around the side of the table, reaching for me. I ran out of his grasp, but it didn't take very long for him to catch me, his strong hands gripping my waist. He pulled me back so I was flush against his chest. Try as I might, I couldn't contain my smile. I felt his lips press softly into the side of my neck, he also was smiling.

'Take it back.' He teased. I shook my head again.

His lips pressed higher on my neck, firmer this time. I almost sighed.

'Please?' He asked, his breath ghosting over my skin. A shiver ran down my spine, and I shuddered. His smile widened, if that was possible.

I only shrugged a 'maybe'.

'That will suffice, to heal my pride. For now.' He told me, and released me from his arms.

I stepped away, and gestured to the room next to us. He bowed and told me to lead the way.

I walked calmly out of the room, ignoring the thousands of wild thoughts flying through my head. The door next to James's study was identical to all the other doors, and I pushed it open with ease.

My mouth fell open when I beheld this room.

'This is the other drawing room. It's much more informal than the other one.' James said from the doorway.

Indeed it was. A lovely pale green coloured all the walls, making it feel fresh and warm. A roaring fire sat to the left of me, sharing a wall with the fire in James's study. A large and comfortable sofa sat in the centre of the room, with two armchairs on either side. A small low table stood before the sofa for placing a tea service on. I learned that much when I worked at Ella's manor.

The wall facing the door had two large window cut out of it, a cross-hatching pattern residing in the frame. There was a small shelf of books in the right hand corner, as well as a little pile of blankets. A large dark green rug covered the floor, shielding the dark wood from sight.

'This is the one that gets used. It doesn't feel as stuffy as the other one does. This is the one I was allowed in as a child. My mother used to read to me from that armchair.' He said, pointing to the one on the left.

I still he still held the piece of paper in his hand. I pointed towards it, and he gave it to me, with a small smirk.

Using the low table, I began to write.

 _Why were you not allowed in the other room? Were you a bad child?_

He looked over my shoulder to read my writing, and laughed a little.

'I was just like every other small boy, always covered in mud and leaves. My parents didn't like the idea of me making more work than was necessary for the servants.'

I smiled. I could just imagine a little James, running around through the main hallway, trailing mud and dirt into all of the carpets and rugs, leaves and twigs sticking out of his long hair.

'Come on, more house to show you.' He said, inclining his head. I made my way out of the green drawing room and stood once again in the main entrance hall. James showed me there was a small wash room underneath the stairs, and one more room, the mirror image of the dining room on the other side of the staircase. He pushed open the door to show me the music room. I housed a large pianoforte, and several music stands. Apparently his mother used to play, and spent a lot of time in that room. But James never had the determination to practice, so the room remained unused.

James led me upstairs, and off to the left. There were three doors along the corridor, two guest rooms and my own room. The door at the end was the Master's rooms, and James asked me if I would like to see it.

A tight panic gripped my gut. I knew I shouldn't be nervous about seeing his room, knew it was completely irrational. But he was my husband, and the thought of seeing his room brought up the other thoughts of what should have happened last night, but didn't. I shook my head, and James didn't press me.

The other side of the stairs had the same layout as the left hand side, three doors and one at the end. James told me that there were another two guest rooms behind the first two doors.

I pointed to the final door in the row, and he smiled a little.

'That door leads to the room connected to the next door.' He said cryptically. I tilted my head in confusion, and he led me down to the end of the corridor, to the room that was the mirror equivalent of where the Master's room was. He pushed the door open wide enough for me to see inside.

White walls. Lovely and pure. I stepped through the doorway to stand just inside the bright room.

My eyes fixed on the object that lay against the far right wall.

A cradle.

A baby's cradle.

I stared and stared at it, unable to tear my gaze away from it.

My heart sped up. My hands felt clammy and strange.

'Welcome to my nursery.' James said from behind me.

There were various trunks dotted around the room, no doubt containing baby clothes and toys. A small child size bed stood against the wall closest to me, already made up. As if ready and waiting.

My breathing stopped.

A room for a child.

A baby.

It had been James's room, and would one day be his child's.

And as his wife, that would make me…

The mother of his child.

I swallowed.

Had he shown me this, as a hint? As some way to suggest the subject?

I turned back around to face him slowly. He wasn't even looking at me, but at the door that was next to the door we had just come through.

'That leads to the room next to this one, the nanny's room. Or my mother's old room. She didn't want me to have a nanny, and there wasn't a direct route through her rooms, so she moved here. That door over there,' He said, pointing past my head to one on the far wall, 'Leads to my bedroom.'

I swallowed again.

He had brought me to his childhood room. The childhood room that he one day hoped for his own child.

The thoughts flying through my head must have shown on my face, as James's smile dropped and he walked over to me, and placed a gently hand beneath my chin.

'Marion, I'm not implying… I'm really not.' He said quietly. 'It's just a tour of the house. I wasn't even thinking of that.'

Taking a deep breath, I looked up to my husband.

'Come on, only two more rooms.' He said, and lead me out of the nursery, the door closing with a click behind us. He led me back down the corridor to a door that was directly opposite from the nursery door. He pulled it open and my mouth dropped at the size of it.

A large room, long and rectangular in shape stood. Most of the back wall had been split into windows, flooding light into the large room. On the remaining three walls, there were various portraits and works of art hanging.

'This is called 'The hall.' I think whoever named it was struggling for a name, went with the most boring option, and it just sort of stuck.' James informed me. 'It where anything big happens. Only ever used in formal occasions; celebrations, large dinners, gatherings, that sort of thing. I had my coming of age celebration between these very walls. Christopher was sick over in that corner.' He said, a little too proudly.

I raised my eyebrow in question of 'Why?'

'He'd had a little too much wine, and coupled with the dancing and food, he had a rough time the following day.'

I bit down a laugh. I wondered how Ella would react to finding out her husband was a bad drunk. Her loving, caring, sweet husband.

I took a step towards the large windows on the other side of the room. The view from them was the same as the dining room, which was directly beneath us. There was a large patch of grass spanning the width of the house, and going back for a few tens of feet. Then, a line a trees marking the edge of the manor's grounds and the start of the forest.

The forest that had a small chapel hidden within. The chapel we had been married in the day before.

I took in the view. It was lovely in the bright sunshine. I felt James move to stand behind me, his hands gently wrapping around my waist.

'Do you like the view?' He asked softly.

I nodded, and his arms tightened around me.

'Good, I'm gl- What on earth is that?' He asked, suddenly pulling away from me. The heat from his body vanished and I found myself rather cold. He moved closer to the window, and peered out. I copied him, trying spot what he had just seen.

A small spot of brown was moving through the garden.

No, not a spot.

A person.

A person wrapped in a brown cloak. The hood was up so I couldn't see their face, but they seemed to making for the manor with quite a pace.

'Who?' James asked more to himself than to me. Then, without another word, he turned around and walked briskly out of the hall.

I followed, curious as to who this mysterious person was.

James practically ran down the stairs and across the entrance hall. I tried to keep up, but running in a dress was more difficult than running in trousers.

James made it to the front door, and yanked it open, before taking off round the right hand side of the house. Panting, I ran after him. We both made it around the side of the manor before we were confronted by the person in the cloak.

I stood, frozen. Even James looked a little concerned.

'Who are you? What do you want?' He asked, his voice betraying a little anger.

The cloaked man stood before us, ragged trousers covered in mud and cut in strange places. They tilted their head upward slightly, and I was able to see the stained hanker chief that was covering their mouth from view.

My heart stopped.

I knew that hanker chief.

Knew that person who liked to wear unusual trousers and a brown cloak.

My hands shook as I pushed past James and ran at the person before me. I wrapped my arms around their shoulder, and she gripped my back.

Her cloak fell back a bit, and I could see that familiar braided raven black hair.

Blanche.

Blanche was here!

I held onto her just as tightly as she held onto me. My breathing was ragged as I gripped my friend.

'Would someone care to explain?' James asked from behind me.

Blanche let go of me instantly, and pulled her hood down all the way. James's eyes widened a fraction when he saw that the person before him was female.

Before I could register what was going on, Blanche had flung her arm out, and pushed me firmly behind her.

'Who the hell are you?' She asked, pulling down her hanker chief.

'Sir James Thorne.' James told her, sounding very confused by the turn of events. 'You?'

'Blanche.' She said. She didn't say Bianca, or Lady Knox. I stood still, watching the two of them stare at each other.

'And how do you know my wife?' James asked.

Blanche whirled on me.

'You got married?' She cried. The pain in her eyes was evident. I opened my mouth to respond, but shut it quickly.

'Yes, we got married.' James answered for me. Blanche glared at him.

'Be quiet!' She yelled at him. He simply stood there, shocked.

'Marion, what were you thinking? What happened?' She asked

Once again, I opened my mouth, but had to close it again.

'Marion, come on. You can tell me.'

I pointed to my throat, and then shook my head.

Blanche just looked at me confused. I tried again, but the message didn't seem to get through.

'If I may,' James began, from behind Blanche, 'Marion can't speak, she was cursed.'

Blanche's eyes flared in both shock and anger. I thought she was going to burst into flames right there and then.

'What?' She managed to make out. She looked so hurt.

'Well, she wasn't cursed. Her family were. She's staying silent to break it for them.' James added.

'When?' She asked me, ignoring James. I held up five fingers.

'Five, what is that supposed to mean?' She asked.

I counted up to five on my hands, and understanding seemed to line her face.

'Five days ago?'

I shook my head.

'Five months, no I saw you two months ago.'

I shook my head again.

'Five weeks?' She asked, and I nodded.

'She's been silent for five weeks. We got married last night.'

Blanche took a deep breath, and turned around slowly to face him. There was such wrath in her face, like nothing I'd ever seen before.

'So, are you telling me, that my friend here, has been cursed. And she is doing a good and brave thing to help her family. And you decided to take advantage of her?' She yelled at him.

'No. I would never-' James began, but was cut off.

'You married her? Did you go to her bed last night? A silent and submissive bride. Someone who literally can't say no. If that's not taking advantage, I don't know what it.'

'I didn't.' He stammered.

Even I shook my head at her accusation.

'If you have harmed one hair on her head, so help me, I will make you suffer.' She said out of gritted teeth.

I pushed Blanche's arm down, and moved to stand in front of her, between the two of them. The fire in her eyes… It made me nervous. I had never seen her like this, not ever.

'I promise you, I have not touched Marion. I would never harm her.'

Blanche did not look satisfied. She continued to stare at James, wrath still lining her face.

James had the good sense to look terrified. Even I was terrified. I slowly reached for her wrist, and wrapped my fingers around it. She looked to me, and I tugged, gesturing for her to follow me. She was reluctant to go, but after a few moments submitted. I led her right past James, and round the front of the house. She remained in silent anger the entire time. James followed us, but at a safe distance. I led her through the front door, and quickly into James's study. He opened his mouth to protest, but I shot him a warning glare.

After what he'd said earlier, about Helen not cleaning in there, then this was the least likely place for Blanche to run into the servant girls. James also came into the room, but it was me who closed the door behind us. I gesture for Blanche and James to take a seat. James took the seat behind his desk, but Blanche stubbornly did not move. I bit my cheek and moved to grab some paper and a quill. My hand moved fast as I wrote.

 _He did not touch me. I am safe, and unharmed._

I handed the paper to Blanched who read it quickly, and narrowed her eyes at James. He simply sat and took her scrutiny.

'So, how did all this come about?' She asked, waving to the two of us.

I glanced to James. It would take far too long to write it all down, so I gave him a nod to tell him that he would have to explain.

'Well, it's a long story.'

'Then start talking.' She snapped.

'So, from what I can gather, Marion's father passed about two months ago.'

Blanche instantly signalled for him to shut up and looked up to me.

'Oh, I'm so sorry Marion. I thought he would get better.'

I nodded my thanks.

'Wait, you knew he was sick?' James asked, sounding very confused.

'Yes, I knew he was sick.' Blanche spat at him, then she turned back to me. 'How long did you have?'

I wrote, _He died that night._

She sighed, gave me her condolences.

'So, you were with Marion that day?' James asked, still trying to work out what was going on.

'Yes, you idiot. What does this have to do with you two getting married?'

James bit back a retort, and continued. 'So, Mr Brown passed on, and Marion was left in charge of her family. The springbloom festival came, and her family went out to play the game. She stayed behind and waited for them. But they didn't return.'

I looked to the floor. The memory of that day was still raw.

'There was this faerie enchanter, who had captured all of her brothers and sisters because they had tried to steal a flower. I forget which one. Anyway, he dragged them all back to Rault and held them in front of everyone. Then he cursed them to be animals by day, and humans by night. I think there was also something about Marion's voice being ripped away.' He told her.

James's hand found mine, and he squeezed lightly.

'What do you, something about her voice being ripped away?' Blanche asked.

I picked up the quill and started writing again.

 _I begged him to let them go, and he told me to shut up. I didn't, so he used his magic and pulled my voice from my throat. I felt it._

Blanche's face drained of all colour when she read it.

'And then?' She asked, her voice quivering a little.

'He told them the only way to break the curse was if Marion remained silent for a year. He gave her voice back. Then, the faerie placed a spell over her village, so they would all turn against her. She grabbed her family and fled, in fear of her life.'

Blanche swallowed roughly.

'Why did you not call for me?' She asked.

I simply pointed to my throat again. Understanding seemed to course through her.

'She went to a small abandoned cottage in the woods and hid there.'

 _Rose's cottage. I thought she could help. But she was gone._

'Rose? Rose is gone?' Blanche asked. I nodded.

'But where? She's always lived there. They were so protective of it. They made sure we didn't tell anyone.' Blanche said to me. I shrugged. I had no clue why Rose was not there, or where she had gone.

'Whose Rose?' James asked.

'Never you mind. Continue.' She snapped at him.

'So,' James said through gritted teeth, 'They all stayed there. Where she accidentally ran into me again while I was hunting with Antony and Charles. I was pointing a crossbow at her sister, who has been turned into a swan. She ran into Antony quite hard, he had a rather nasty bruise. Then she introduced me to her family who turned back to humans at sunset. After her sister had quite rightly slapped me…'

I smiled a little at the memory. It had been quite a thing to behold.

'They told me that part of the story. I came by the cottage every day to help, and to keep Marion company. Until four days ago, something just clicked.' He said, staring at me. I blushed.

'We began courting, and yesterday, I was riding towards the cottage when Marion managed to stop my horse on the main path. Turned out, she had been thrown out of the cottage earlier that day. Some hunter who claimed owned the cottage had grabbed her and thrown her in the mud. I offered to help, to have her stay here, at the manor. However, I couldn't have her here as she was. Her reputation would be forever ruined. So, I offered to marry her, that way she could live here, and we could hide her family. They have a room in the attic. We got married last night, and I believe you know the rest.'

Blanche leaned against the book case that was behind her, as if her head was spinning, trying to process everything she had just been told.

'So, you married him, to protect your family?' She asked me.

I nodded slowly. I was aware James was watching everything.

'And you swear that he has not laid a finger on you?'

I bit the inside of my cheek. We had kissed. Many times. And some of them were not very chaste at all.

But I nodded.

She released a small breath. 'Good.'

'Now, my tale is done,' James told her, 'I believe it is high time you told me who you are, and how you know Marion.'

Blanche looked like she was about to bite him for that comment.

'I'm a wanted thief and murderer who attacked Marion on the road to Milton two years ago.' She said, with a smug smile, 'Blanche, pleased to meet you.'

James's mouth fell open. His eyes darted from Blanche, to me, and back to Blanche again.

'Marion, is this true?' He asked, shocked.

I saw the small wicked smile Blanche was giving me, and decided to play along.

I nodded.

James sat frozen.

Blanche turned to me.

'Look, I feel I owe you an apology. I heard you cry. It found its way to me. But I was a little preoccupied at the time, and couldn't get to you.'

I looked at her in confusion. If she had heard Alexander shouting, then why hadn't she helped.

'They caught me. About three weeks after you went home. Must have been the day before springbloom. They got me corned and got me. I was strapped into the back of a cart for the best part of ten days.'

My heart stopped beating.

The one thing Blanche had been terrified of, it had happened.

'But, she needs to employ more highly trained guards. After ten days, it was easy to get the keys off one of them. I escaped, but one of the bastards shot me in the leg with an arrow. It was only a graze, it just scraped me. Hurt like hell. But I got away, and hid. They were stupid enough not to check the same place twice. They eventually gave up and looked for me in another part of the forest. I healed, and heard your cries, but couldn't move to help you. Once I was able to walk again, I began the long journey back to the cottage. But before I got there yesterday, I heard your brother. He said you were all at some place called Arton. So I walked here, and here we are.'

I wasn't entirely sure I was breathing. I didn't think James was either.

'I'm sorry I didn't come to help.' She said.

I shook my head. If anything, I should have gone and helped her.

She had been caught. She had been tied up.

I couldn't imagine the terror and fear that would be running through my veins if it had been me. I had been terrified when we had run. And we weren't even caught.

I placed my hand over my heart, as a gesture of how sorry I was.

Blanche gave me a small smile.

'It's fine. I'm alright, completely healed. And those idiots won't be able to find me for a good long time now. I only hope that they are trembling with fear when they have to go and tell her that they had me in their clutches, and I escaped. I'd give anything to see the look on that bitch's face.'

I smiled a little. Even though I didn't know her personally, I too would quite like to see her stepmother suffer.

'Anyway, I should probably go. I need to get back into hiding. Those highborns are going to rob themselves.' She said. I saw James visibly flinch out of the corner of my eye.

'I just needed to know you were alright. But, you seem to have everything in hand.' She said, gesturing the grand manor around us. I nodded. She looked like she was about to walk out of the door when she turned back to James, and braced her hands on the desk before him.

'Just to let you know, I'm wanted for the death of my father. So don't think I will not make you suffer if you do one thing to hurt this girl. I have my ways of finding out what I need to know, so watch yourself.' She threatened.

All the colour had drained from James's face, and he gave her the slightest of nods.

'I vow to you; I would never ever do anything that harms Marion. I swear it.' He muttered.

'Good.' She said, and leaned back so she was standing at full height again. I opened the door for her, and she walked out. She continued out of the house and into the gardens, and I followed, the piece of paper and a pencil I had found grasped tightly in my hand. I left James behind, still sat in his study, as white as death.

Once we had made it around the back of the house, and disappeared past the tree line, I sped up and grabbed Blanche's arm.

She swung back around, her eyes silver lined with tears.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If I had known, I would have tried to get to you earlier.' She said.

I felt the lump building in my throat.

 _No, none of this is your fault. I'm sorry I couldn't help you!_ I wrote on the page.

She had been captured. Tied up like some animal. I knew how shaken she had been when we had almost been caught, so I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be locked in chains.

'You couldn't have known.' She said quietly. 'And anyway, I got away. It's done. I will never again let myself be so stupid, so lazy. They are going to have a much harder time finding me now.' She smirked.

My eyes fell down to the rip in her trousers. It was on her left thigh, and there was just enough skin visible for me to see the red, but healing wound underneath. Several small scabs lay there, in a straight line. The line the arrow had gone over.

My stomach turned. She had been shot. That evil bitch had let her guards shoot at her own stepdaughter, knowing full well she was innocent.

'It's fine. Really. It doesn't hurt anymore, and it's all healed. Good as new. Apart from a scar I'm going to have there.' She told me. I swallowed. How could anyone do that to anyone else?

 _Can I tell James about you? Not all the details clearly. But I think you've scared him half to death._ I wrote on the paper.

Blanche read it quickly, and thought about it for a moment.

'I suppose, if you trust him enough?'

I nodded. I did trust James. Almost as much as I trusted Blanche.

'But, you have to promise me at the first sign of trouble, you get word to me. If he tries anything, anything at all, you grab your siblings, and you run and find me. I will not have you there a moment longer than you have to be, if you're not safe.'

My heart leapt. Blanche really did care for me if she was offering that.

 _I will be fine. He's a good man, under all the smugness._

Blanche laughed a little.

'Is he the highborn you used to call 'Lord Smug' by any chance?' She asked.

I smiled and nodded.

'Huh, I see why.' She said. 'More handsome than I imagined.' She told me, raising her eyebrows a little.

I blushed.

'I really should get going. I have to find my way back to the path.' She told me, pulling her hood back up.

 _Do you need anything? Food, water, clothes? I apparently have money now!_

Blanche smiled at the gesture.

'No, I don't need them. If you gave them to me, they would go straight away to that village. But, I may take you up on that offer soon, now I know where you will be.'

 _Please come and visit me. I missed you!_

'Oh, don't worry. I'll be stopping by again soon. Mainly to scare the wits out of your husband, but I might find time to see you too.'

I grinned, and wrapped my arms around her in a large hug.

'I'm glad to know you're alright. And you seemed to have made quite a life for yourself, and your family.' She told me. I nodded. I had managed to do this.

I pulled back and wrote,

 _You too. I'm so relieved to know that you are alright._

She nodded and pulled her hanker chief up over her mouth. She gave my shoulder one last quick squeeze and the ran off into the forest, and out of sight.

I stood watching her leave.

Blanche was alright. She was fine.

She had wanted to come and help me, but she had been captured.

Captured.

Chained up.

If it had been a few weeks before hand, that could have been me.

She had been chained up for days. Days of being held prisoner.

Tears formed in my eyes at the mere thought of it.

My friend had been chained up. And she still had the heart to come and find me, even after all of that.

The tears slipped from my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.

She didn't deserve this. She deserved none of this. And that evil wicked woman…

She knew that Blanche was innocent. And she had sent her men to hunt her down like an animal. The thought of it made me sick.

The tears continued to silently fall as I made my way back towards the house. My feet trailed behind me as I got closer and closer to it.

As someone who had just lost their father, I knew how much Blanche would have been hurting. And then to have been blamed for his death and have to flee for your life, it was too horrible to think about. Three years later, she was still on the run, always living in fear and terror.

I walked back through the front door of the manor, and saw the James's study door was closed.

He had closed it to me.

I didn't blame him; he had just been threatened by an outlaw.

My feet resounded on the hard wooden floor as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom. I opened the door carefully, and made sure it closed behind me. Wiping away my falling tears with my sleeve, I sat at the writing desk, and began to tell Blanche's story.

A story of pain and evil and how goodness can thrive, even when darkness surrounds it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two.**

I stood outside the closed door to James's study, several folded sheets of paper grasped tightly in my hand.

He hadn't left the room since Blanche had threatened him. I honestly didn't blame him. If she had said that to me, I would be utterly terrified.

I simply had to hope that my explanation would be good enough for him to understand. I could understand why he was mad at me, why he had closed the door and didn't want to see me. It had been about an hour since Blanche had left, and I had hoped that in that time, he would have left the room and come looking for me. But he hadn't.

He didn't want to see me, so I did the only thing I could to try and make him understand.

A letter.

Well, more like a story.

Her story. Our tangled history.

The paper sat in my left hand, and I reached up to knock on the door with my right.

But my hand froze before I could make contact with the wood.

He had closed the door for a reason. He wanted to be left alone. I shouldn't be intruding. After all, he had respected my privacy.

So instead, I knelt before the door, and slid the several sheets through the gap between the floor and the door. I heard no movement on the other side, so I knocked lightly and then retreated back up the stairs. I barely got to the top when I heard the door open, but I continued walking, knowing he had seen me. I reached my bedroom, and waited.

I got bored after about two minutes of just sitting there, so decided to use the time to practice the hand gestures that we had come up with last night. As well as please and thank you, there was also Why? Who? How? What? Repeat. Stop. Wait. Paper please.

Repeating the gestures over and over again, while staring at the page I had written them all down on, I passed about ten minutes.

The door burst open, and I immediately glanced up, expecting to see James.

But the two people at the door were not my husband.

Martha and Helen. Both carrying various sheets and giggling between themselves.

They stopped the moment they saw that I was in the room.

'M'lady.' They both said in unison, dropping me a small curtsey. I gave them a small wave.

'Sorry, we didn't think you were in here.' Helen said, her voice still lined with a hint of amusement. 'We're just here to change the sheets.'

I frowned a little. I had only spent one night in that bed, surely the sheets did not need changing just yet. But, they had carried all those things up with them, so I nodded and let them do their job.

'I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.' The pale one, Martha said, a wicked grin forming on her face.

I nodded with more emphasis but they both burst out giggling.

'I can't hear you!' Helen crooned. 'Speak up please!'

I was shocked. Shocked that they would do something like that. Never mind that I was their mistress, but just that I was another human being.

I glared at them. How dare they?

'Glare all you want, m'lady, but you can't tell us off, can you?' Martha snickered.

I was astounded.

I stood up, still glaring at them. I was going to remind them that I was their mistress, they answered to me now.

'Oh, look at the mistress getting all high and mighty.' Helen teased. 'Don't think that we don't know. You're not a lady. You're some common tart that he found on the road somewhere. Why else would he have to marry you in secret with no notice.'

My head spun. How dare they? How utterly dare they?

My mouth fell open at the accusation, and I shook my head violently. I was not some common tart!

But before I could do anything, Martha marched right past me, and yanked the blanket off the bed, revealing the still clean sheets.

'Told you.' Martha said, smugly. 'No blood.'

I was very confused. I looked between the two horrid girls, my temper rising with every passing second.

'So that means that you aren't desirable enough for him to bed,' Helen started, 'Or you already opened your legs for him. What did you do, shame him into marrying you? Did you get yourself with child?'

My face burned at the accusation. Is this truly what they thought happened?

I had forgotten about that, about the clean sheets. No blood meant no consummation of the marriage, if I was still pure. That's what they had come up here to find out.

Biting down on my lip, I kept a tight leash on my temper. I had already lost it once that morning, I was not going to lose it again.

But they were being so horrible, so despicable.

How could they be so cruel? So horrid? So mean?

I knew I shouldn't let the thing they say get to me, but each sentence hit me like an arrow to the heart.

Tears clouded the edges of my vision, and I swallowed them down, as well as my rising anger. How could they?

I wasn't going to listen to this. I wasn't going to give them the time of day if they were going to be petty and cruel.

So, I simply walked out of my room, both of them snickering behind me.

I ignored them, heading straight for the stairs. Their laughs followed me down the staircase and through the entrance hall, until I went through the door to the green drawing room and closed the door behind me.

Fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from my face, I flopped down onto the closest armchair. Why were those girls so horrible? I had done nothing to them. I had not been rude or snobbish, simply silent. I did not deserve any of what they had just said about me. So why were they so against me?

I wasn't going to cry. I wasn't going to let them get to me. They were just silly girls who knew nothing. They were spiteful and mean, and I was not going to let them get to me.

I had to put it out of my mind. Had to think about something else. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the low pile of books that sat in the corner.

Perfect.

I grabbed the first one off the top of the pile and went back to the armchair. It had it's back to the fireplace, so I pulled it around, making sure I didn't twist the rug underneath it. Then, I curled up in the chair, and began to read, letting my temper die down.

I must have read for hours. I didn't really notice the passing of time. It was only when the skies began to darken a little too much for me to read by, did I notice that nearly the entire day had gone.

I had missed lunch, and most of the afternoon. It wasn't sunset, not quite yet, but the sun had moved to a position where it was no longer shining through the windows of the room, so I was struggling to see the words on the page.

The book was compelling, a fantasy story of adventure where a prince was cursed to have no heart, and his quest to find the girl who possessed it. She was a servant girl who had been wrongly abused by her family, but still found the strength to be good and kind. It reminded me a little of Ella.

I was about to stand up to go and find a candle, when the door opened, and James stood before me.

I hadn't seen him, not since that morning when I had given him the letter. I thought he was here to ask me about it, but then I noticed his clothes.

His very messy clothes.

They were covered in what looked like flour, he even had a streak of it in his hair.

'So, this is where you've been hiding all day.' He drawled, leaning on the door frame.

I nodded.

'You weren't in your room, so I presumed you'd gone outside.' He confessed.

I supposed that made sense.

'I have questions, quite a few in fact.' He began, 'But I have a far more pressing matter to deal with, and I need your help.'

I raised my eyebrow in question.

'Do you know how to make a cake? I think I did something wrong.' He admitted.

The smile formed on my face before I knew it. Nodding, I followed him out of the room. He led me down the servant's stairs towards the kitchen, chatting all the way.

'Now, Martha told me a fool-proof recipe that she said she used last time, but I think I did something wrong. The batter looks more like a ball than soup. I did everything exactly the way she said to, but clearly something has gone horribly wrong.'

At the mention of her name, I shuddered. I had tried so hard not to think about the servant girls for the last few hours, tried so hard not to let their taunts get to me.

They had called me a whore! They thought I had shamed him into marrying me.

And while we hadn't had what anyone would call a conventional courtship, I was not a common tart!

The insult had hit deep. It was cruel and disrespectful and horrid.

But I was sticking by myself. I was not going to let it get to me. They were stupid silly girls who knew nothing.

We made it down to the kitchen, which lay directly under the dining room. It was comprised of a large old wooden table in the centre, and a long work top around the edge. On the left lay a sink, and on the wall next to the door was a stove.

There was a ceramic bowl sat on the table, surrounded completely by flour.

'I may have had a slight accident with the sieve…' He told me, noting where exactly I was looking.

Slight accident may have been the understatement of the century.

There was flour everywhere. It covered the table, and fell to the floor; there was even some on the worktop on the side. How he had gotten it there, I had no clue.

I walked over to the bowl, to see what did indeed look like a ball of dough. Nothing like a cake mixture.

Noting the space in the flour, I pointed a finger and began to write.

 _Where are Helen and Martha?_

'They're out. They went to the market to get some food. They like to chat to their friends, so they will be gone a while.'

Relief flooded through me, I didn't want to have to see them again. Not today.

 _You need more egg._

James saw what I was writing and instantly went to find the basket of eggs. I pointed a finger into the batter, to taste.

It was actually surprisingly alright. It didn't taste too bad, just more egg was needed to change the texture. James cracked an egg into the top, and tried to mix it in. His arm moved slowly as he carefully tried to fold the egg in.

I almost laughed. He clearly knew nothing about making cake. You had to beat the mixture fast, and get air into it if it was going to rise.

Placing my hand over his arm, I gestured for him to stop and give me the bowl. He watched as I beat the egg into the mixture, my own arm straining with the effort. But it started to look more like batter than dough. I continued mixing it until the egg blended into the rest of it perfectly.

James took it back and began to pour it into the tin that stood ready. He thanked me for my assistance and placed it in the oven part of the stove.

He turned slowly back towards me, sighing a little.

'So, I read your letter.' He told me.

I braced myself for shouting, for rage, for anger. But James only looked at me with sad eyes.

'Was it all true?' He asked.

I nodded. Every word I had written was exactly what she had told me. I had omitted certain details, like the ability to speak to animals and her real identity, but everything that was written was true.

He sighed.

'I know you said you won't tell me who she is' He started, 'But I think I know.'

My heart stopped. How could he possibly know? I had taken great care not to mention any names. I felt the colour drain from my face.

'Marion, it's alright. You didn't give it away. You didn't betray her. But the story sounded all too familiar. It took me a few hours to put the dots together, but…'

He took a deep breath.

'She's the daughter of Duke Knox, isn't she? The one who ran away the night he was killed.'

I froze. I wasn't sure whether to nod or shake my head. Was I supposed to deny it, or confirm it?

'I know you didn't want me to know, but I heard about it. Most highborns did. The Duke got sick, and she was blamed for his murder and fled. A warning was put out to all of us to look out for her. We were told she was dangerous and mad for power.'

Panic flooded through me.

Was he going to report her?

Was he going to go and tell her stepmother exactly where to find her?

Had I just handed my friend over to someone who would capture her?

My hands went clammy, and my blood turned cold.

What had I done?

'Marion? Are you alright?'

James's voice sounded cut off, like he wasn't in the room with me.

Don't. Don't hand her over.

My hands shook as I wrote in the flour.

 _Please don't hand her over. She's innocent!_

The tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. What had I done? She had only just escaped capture, and I had given her right back over.

I felt James stand behind my shoulder to look over at what I had written.

My head tilted to look up at him, pleading with my eyes. She couldn't be caught. Not again. I'd rather take her place than be the cause of her captivity.

'Marion, it's alright. I'm not going to say anything. I won't hand her over.'

I almost sobbed in relief. James hand rubbed up and down my arm, trying to sooth me. But, his hand grazed over a sore spot, and I jumped back, almost yelping with the pain.

I still had a rather nasty bruise from when the hunter had grabbed me by the arm the day before. It had developed overnight from a red mark to a lovely purple colour. James's eyes went wide when I moved, and it took him a few moments to realised where he had just touched.

'Sorry, I forgot. Is it bad?'

 _Bearable._

He gave me a small sad smile.

'Anyway. About Bianca.'

I stopped when I heard her name. My mind didn't quite catch up. I had gotten so used to calling her Blanche that I forget the rest of the world knew her as Lady Bianca.

'So, she is innocent of her father's murder. You explained why she left. And what she's been doing since then. I have to admit I am rather impressed with the Robin Hood philosophy.' He smirked. 'But one thing doesn't make sense.'

'How is it that she knows when and where to come and find you? She mentioned earlier that she heard your brother's cries. All of your brothers were at the wedding yesterday, so they weren't anywhere near her. How does she know?'

I pondered the question for a moment, thinking about how exactly to respond. I couldn't tell him the truth. It had taken months for Blanche to tell me, and she didn't exactly trust James.

 _She has a network. She won't tell me exactly of what._

'So, you don't even know?'

I shook my head, anxious that he wouldn't call me out for lying.

'And, can I ask about the threat this morning? What was that all about? Not that I don't believe her, but why all the hatred of me?'

I smiled a bit.

 _She's always been like that. She is very protective. It happened last time._

I read the words I wrote at the same time James asked 'Last time?'

I stared at the words.

I hadn't meant to write that. I hadn't thought that.

That made no sense. I had written it, but… It had felt something else had been guiding my hand.

What did I mean?

Last time?

Before I knew it, my head started to spin. Dizziness fell over me, and black spots appeared in my vision.

Last time?

A forest scene lay before me, someone was holding me, my hands behind my back.

Blanche, she had captured me, but in a fake sort of way….Taunting someone. Not me, but someone else.

More spinning, more tilting, more black.

She was testing someone. There was someone in front of me.

Someone screaming my name.

Someone who didn't know I was safe, who wanted to protect me.

A vague flash of red crossed my eyes, followed by a lovely blue-green colour.

Like the colour of a jewel.

 _'_ _Anything, take me instead of her!'_

It was a man's voice.

I knew it.

I recognised the voice. It was someone I knew.

More black spots, more dizziness.

The world was spinning fast, far too fast.

Last time?

 _Last time?_

I vaguely felt my knees give way beneath me, and hit the cold stone floor.

 _'_ _Aren't you a little old to be playing games like this?'_

That was my voice. I had said that.

 _'_ _Then torment someone else, not my betrothed.'_

My voice again.

Betrothed?

Betrothed?

I hadn't had a betrothed. Only James, and we were married so quickly we never called each other betrothed.

Who was I talking about?

The blackness completely consumed my vision, and the world spun so fiercely, that I let go of my grip on reality and fainted.

* * *

'Marion! Marion? Please wake up! Marion!'

Someone was calling my name. I could hear them.

I felt something against my cheek. There it was again.

'Marion, please wake up. Come on. Marion?'

Someone was tapping my cheek, rapidly. Slapping me awake.

My eyes rolled around in their sockets, and with great effort, I peeled my eyes open.

A pair of lovely green eyes found mine.

James.

'Oh, thank goodness! Are you alright?' He asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but his eyes suddenly went wide, and he placed his hand over my mouth.

'Sorry, you can't speak, remember?'

I closed my mouth under his hand. Of course I couldn't speak, how had I forgotten?

He released his hand slowly, and he placed it under my neck, and pulled me upright.

I had been lying on the ground.

What had happened?

My knees hurt, and my head felt strange. My throat was dry and I could feel the sweat running down the back of my neck.

'You fainted. You were fine one minute, and then you went as white as death and started swaying. I just about caught you before you fell.'

I looked up at James. He indeed looked worried. But there was something else.

Terror. That's what was one his face.

He had been scared for me.

'Are you alright? Just nod or shake your head.' He pleaded.

I blinked. What had happened to make me faint?

I nodded my head for him. I was feeling a little weak, but on the whole alright.

I sat up straight, still blinking from confusion. I had never fainted before. And I had felt fine all day. Yes, I had been upset, but I hadn't felt ill or weak.

I'd just fainted for no apparent reason.

James offered me his hand, and he pulled me up to standing.

I wobbled a little, trying to get my balance properly. My knees barked in protest. They felt sore, and stung a little. I must have fallen on them.

There was a large mark in the spilled flour on the table. I guessed my hand must have dragged across the writing that had been there and smudged it out.

'You just take a seat over here.' James told me, leading to a chair in the corner of the room. 'And pull yourself around fully.'

I almost fell into the chair, and began to breathe deeply. The fuzziness that clouded my head started to abate slightly. James appeared before me with a cup of water, and he gently handed to me. I drank deeply, still trying to pull myself back in reality.

'Have you had something to eat today? Other than breakfast?' James asked.

I shook my head. I had been reading, I'd skipped lunch. But I hadn't been eating well for weeks. Ever since the winter. I was used to not eating three meals a day, so I doubted my fainting spell had anything to do with lack of food.

No, it had been something else.

Something I couldn't remember.

I had seen something, right before I had fallen.

And I couldn't remember what it was.

My mind searched and searched for that missing kernel of information, but….

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

I couldn't remember even part of it.

'Right, you're probably hungry. I'll find you some bread or something.' James told me, making himself busy. I didn't have the strength to convey through gestures that it wasn't to do with lack of food, so I just let him.

'Also, about your sibling's dinner. I think it's best for everyone if Martha and Helen don't find out they are up there. They do so like to gossip, and the entire village will know before too long. So, there's a pot of stew prepared. I told them that you want to go visiting the local poor and give them food. You will have to walk the long way round to get to the south west side. I hope that isn't a problem. Unless you want to just tell them about your family?'

I shook my head violently. I didn't want either of them to find out about my family. Those horrid girls would most likely torment them. My family had been through enough. I could spare them that.

'Good. So, it's settled. You can go just before sunset. I'll make your excuses. Do you want your diner before or after you go to visit them?'

My stomach answered for me. A loud rumbling noise filled the room, echoing off the walls. I hadn't had lunch, so now I was starting to become peckish.

James smiled.

'So, before then?'

I nodded.

'Right. So, about this cake…' He asked.

We spent the next few minutes debating cake toppings. Only when James was halfway through trying out different creams when he suddenly remembered something, and dropped the spoon into the cream jar.

'Oh, I almost forgot.' He said, and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up and off the chair. 'I never finished the tour. One more room.'

I smiled a little, as he led me back up the staircase into the main entrance hall.

'Saved the best until last.' He said, the smug smile returning to his face.

We made our way across the hall until we came to the last door, the only one that I hadn't seen yet. We both stood in front of the dark wood, only one of us knowing what lay on the other side. James turned to face me.

'Close your eyes.' He said, a hint of daring in his eyes. I glared at him, but he only continued to smile, and I eventually gave in. My eyelids drooped and I felt him take my hand gently. Then, he lifted it up slowly, and I felt the slightest brush of his lips against my skin. My mouth perked up instantly.

A small tug down my arm, and I walked through the doorframe. Sunlight penetrated through my closed lids, and I could tell that I was facing a window. James dropped my hand, and I saw his shadow move away.

'Alright, open them.' James told me, his voice sounding both excited and apprehensive.

My eyelids fluttered open, and I was able to take in my surroundings.

Without warning, my mouth fell open.

I was a fairly small room, and I was indeed facing the window. But the walls….

On all sides, all the walls were covered completely in bookshelves.

Books. They were everywhere.

The was only a small gap in the shelves where the window was and where the fireplace sat to my right. They went right the way up to the ceiling. A small armchair lay on the rug in front of the fire, and the window ledge had pillows and cushions, turning it into a window seat.

But the amount of books…

There must have been hundreds, if not thousands.

I lived in a house with thousands of books!

I had only ever owned about four books at a time, and those I had wanted and saved up for. Now, they were everywhere.

My heart leapt. I couldn't believe it.

'This is the library.' James told me from where he was standing. 'Thought you might like it.'

I was at a loss to keep the smile from my face. Endless books! How on earth had I got so lucky?

I turned around to James rather quickly, my hair flailing out behind me, and beamed.

'You mentioned you like stories and books, I guessed you'd like being mistress of a library.'

I nodded vigorously.

I pointed around to all of the books, and then to me.

'Yes, they are all at your disposal. You can read them whenever you'd like. Take some up to your room if you wish.'

I felt myself having to cover my mouth to stop an excited squeal erupting from my lips. Books. I loved books, and stories and adventures. I thought Ella had been fortunate to have only one large book shelf, but James had at least four times that. Probably more. And I was the mistress of it. They were my books, all mine.

I practically ran at James, in a very undignified sort of way, and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him tightly to my embrace.

'I'm very glad you like it. At least now I will know where you will be if you disappear again.' He joked. I nodded into his shoulder.

More than anything, I wanted to just open my mouth and say thank you. Just for once. I wanted to be able to just say two words.

And I knew I couldn't.

It frustrated me to no end that I still couldn't speak, and wouldn't be able to for a good long time.

But, for now, I had a husband who cared about me, and an entire library full of books to keep me occupied. Life wasn't all terrible. Not completely.

* * *

Several hours later, I was walking out of the front gates to the manor, down the gravel path. A large pot of warm stew was gripped tightly in my hand, and my pocket had several blank sheets of paper and a pencil shoved inside. The cake was in a tin under my right arm.

The servant girls had returned just as we had finished putting the last sprinkle of sugar on the top. They had been perfectly polite to me in front of James, but I saw their secret sniggers when they thought he wasn't looking.

I ignored them. They had no idea what had actually happened, so were not qualified to make a judgement on it. They were just silly girls who made themselves feel better by trying to make other people feel bad.

The sun was just about setting over the horizon. I sped up my pace. Out of the front gates, around the back through the forest, and then across the back garden to the small wooden door that lead to the attic. The girls had watched me leave through the front gates, as James predicted, so it was the only way I could visit my family without arising suspicion.

I made it to the little door, that was a tiny bit ajar, a sliver of light visible through the gap. I pushed it open with my hip, and began to climb the spiral staircase, to find the door at the top shut. Placing down the pot beside me, I knocked lightly on the door. I could hear voices on the other side of the door, and then footsteps. The door swung open to reveal Daniel, still in his night clothes from the night before.

'Good timing, we've all just changed back.' He grinned. Taking a large sniff of the air around me, his smiled widened. 'And is that soup I smell? I'm starving!'

I nodded, and gestured for him to pick it up.

'Arry's here. She brought food!' Daniel shouted to them.

All of a sudden, my entire family were scrambling towards me. The little ones began telling me about their day, how they had explored the forest at the edge of the manor, and played. Gwen was now the best at hide and seek, mainly because she was such a small animal. Tom's orange fur made him stand out regardless of where he hid.

Daniel had the pot of stew in his hands, and I placed down the tin which contained the cake and some bowls and spoons. Clara greeted me, and offered to pass the bowls around.

'So, how was the first day of married life?' She asked, elbowing me lightly. I blushed a little. I shook my hand slightly in a 'so-so' kind of motion. I pointed to her.

'Me? Well, I found a nice little pond about ten minutes away. Good for swimming on. No other birds to disturb me. I just had to listen to those three scream and shout playing games all day.' She told me, pointing to the smallest three.

Our conversation however was interrupted by the announcement by Daniel that he was starting to dish out the stew. My family crowded around him, eager to get a bowlful.

I stayed at the edge of the room, just watching. I had already eaten.

But one person made their way over to me.

Alexander.

He gave me a sort of small smile, as he stood next to me.

'Good day?' He asked. I once again gestured with my hands that is was 'So-so'. I wasn't about to tell him about the servant girls. He already didn't like the current situation; he didn't need any more reasons to object.

I pulled the piece of paper out of my pocket and began to scribble.

 _You kept shouting for Blanche?_

He glanced over the writing and nodded subtly.

'When you asked me to shout that first night, I guessed she was someone who could help. No one came, so I tried again. I even tried last night, just to tell her where were we. Who actually is she, or have I just been screaming into the forest for no apparent reason?'

 _She's an outlaw who I met two years ago on the way to Milton. We became friends. She walked me to and from Milton, protecting me. She came here this morning._

Alexander's face froze when he read it.

'You are friends with an outlaw? Arry, do you know how dangerous that is?'

I nodded. I had after all, almost seen the consequences of being caught with her.

 _She's innocent. Wrongly accused, but still on the run. She's a good person, but she did threaten James this morning._

Alexander stifled a laugh when he saw it.

'Oh, I like her already.' He murmured.

I smirked a little.

 _She's too old for you! But she does have a younger sister…_

Alexander gave me a small nudge.

'You know I don't mean like that!' He told me. 'And besides, I spend my days as a squirrel. I highly doubt I'm going to find someone any time soon, unless this Blanche like animals…' He joked.

I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous he was being.

'Look, I have to ask. Last night, did anything...happen?' He asked cautiously. His face had gone as red as a strawberry.

I shook my head, and he released a breath.

'Good. At least he knows how to keep his promises.' He muttered under his breath.

I knew my brother was only looking out for me, but I really did not want to have this conversation with him. Especially after the day I'd had.

Thankfully at that moment, Daniel called Alexander over to get the last of the stew. Alexander instantly went to go and take the bowl from him, and I was spared the awkward conversation.

I stayed about an hour with my family. They told me about their day, and I played cards with Richard and Tom. Alexander read a story to Gwen and Robbie, and Daniel and Clara took it upon themselves to tidy up a little bit, clearing the bowls and sorting out the clothes that needed washing. The cake was eaten rather quickly, the three youngest devoured their slices within seconds, and somehow still managed to get crumbs and sugar absolutely everywhere.

It was nice, to just be around them for a little while. And it felt good to know that we had a secure and safe place to live, one we weren't going to get thrown out of at a moment's notice. We were all well cared for, even if they were cursed.

By the time Gwen and Robbie were yawning, enough time had passed for my pretend excuse of visiting the poor of the village to seem realistic. So, I helped get them changed, and tucked them into their beds. Clara gave me a small hug before I waved them all goodnight and disappeared down the stairs, my arms full of the empty stew pot and cake tin.

I walked back inside the quick way, guessing that the servants weren't watching for my return. None of the downstairs was lit up, so I guessed that they were in the kitchen, or in their rooms. I quickly deposited the empty pot and tin in the dining room, like James had told me to. I didn't particularly want to run into either of the girls by myself, in the dark.

Running upstairs, I made it to my bedroom without running into anyone, and felt myself relax as I closed the door behind me.

It had been a very strange day. Well, a very strange couple of days. Five days ago, I kissed James for the first time, and within the space of a week, I had been thrown out of the house, proposed to, married, dealt with horrid wicked servants, and learned the truth about Blanche while she threatened my new husband.

I still couldn't quite believe that it had all happened like this!

However, the struggles of the last few days had made me weary. My bones ached from tiredness, and I found myself yawning before I could even get changed. I gathered the last drops of my energy, and managed to pull at the lacings at the back of my dress. The knot came away surprisingly easy; James hadn't double tied it. Getting out of it was significantly easier than getting into it, as I didn't have to tighten it, only loosen. The dress fell away, and I grabbed the nightgown I had on the previous night, and threw it over my head. Hanging up the lovely blue dress, I blew out the candle that was burning on my desk and climbed into bed. There was a faint glow coming from under James's door; he was still awake.

But, I was too exhausted to care. My eyelids drooped, and surrounded by the lovely silken sheets, I fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

AN- Reviews are very much appreciated!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three.**

 **One month later.**

The methodical scratch of my quill against the paper was beginning to get on my nerves. It sounded again and again and again.

That's all I ever seemed to do all day, simply write.

I wrote everything. Every single word I wanted to say, wanted to scream, wanted to shout.

The silence was deafening, and I hated it. Utterly hated it.

Even after two months, it hadn't gotten any easier like I thought it would. I had thought that I would eventually get used to it, and simply accept it. But alas, it had not happened. Instead, I resented every single second of it. I had a piece of paper in my room where I had written out all of the days left under this infernal curse and I crossed one off each and every day. It was the only thing that kept me silent. The knowledge that every day I got closer and closer to freeing them. It was temporary, and I only had ten months to go before I could speak and shout and sing and scream and cry and whisper and yell. Ten more months to go.

I wanted it over. The sooner the better.

However, not everything in my life was so utterly terrible.

I had now been married an entire month, and had just about begun to get used to life as the mistress of the manor house. It wasn't perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it was better than starving in the forest somewhere.

My family seemed to be back in good spirits. Even Alexander had gotten used to the idea that I was married now, he and James even had lively chats on the evenings we would visit them. Clara still pestered me for all of the details, but I was reluctant to give her any. Maybe being forced to be silent did have a small number of perks. A very small number.

In truth, even if I could speak, there wasn't really much to say anyway.

James was a true to his word, as I expected him to be. He was a real gentleman, always polite and caring, and very sweet underneath all of the fake smugness. We had settled into a routine, and had become closer and closer over the past month. But nothing had happened.

To be completely honest with myself, I was beginning to get a little frustrated.

While I knew that James had promised not only me but also Alexander, that he wouldn't do anything without my permission, it seemed a little at times like he wasn't even interested. Most nights, we'd sit in the drawing room after I visited my family, and he'd talk to me about his day, or whatever other pressing business he had been tending to. Then, he would escort me upstairs and bid me goodnight at the door, and leave for his own room.

It was starting to feel a little like a snub.

He wasn't ignoring me. We spent time together. And there was something in the way we had addressed each other that made me think he still liked me. The flirting, the silly jokes shared between only the two of us. But, between the odd chaste kiss here and there, he had shown nothing that would indicate that he saw me as anything other than a really close friend. A lifelong companion. But not a wife.

However, that was what I was. I was his wife, and he was my husband. Was it so wrong of me to hope that maybe he was interested in me in that way.

I wasn't saying I wanted him to break his word. I was sure I wasn't ready for anything like that. But I just wanted to know where we stood. I wanted to know if I should prepare myself to be resigned to a life where we live together, but nothing more. Maybe he didn't even want that.

There was too much time in the day. Now that I was not busy constantly with looking after seven siblings, or working, I found that the day was entirely too long. I tried helping out in the kitchen, or around the house, but a certain two people quickly put a stop to that. So, most of my time was now occupied with reading… and writing.

I had been writing almost constantly. I wrote down most things I would like to say, I kept a sheet in the pocket of my dress which had some common phrases written on it that I pointed to when we were having a conversation. Of course it wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing. But my real writing came from my stories.

After so long of wanting to be a great lady with wealth, the reality fell a little short of my imaginings. So, what else was I supposed to do that let my imagination run away with me, filling my mind of stories of adventure and romance. James had very kindly given me a little blank book to fill with my writing. None of it was actually readable, not yet. Just scribblings of ideas, random sentence that popped into my head. I spent nearly all day writing and reading, trying to tie all of the loose strings together. It occupied my time if nothing else. I knew it would probably amount to nothing, I only did it for my own amusement. But it passed the long and lonely hours.

It seemed impossible that anyone could feel lonely in a manor house with a husband, two servants and a family of seven siblings hiding in the attic. But I did. More so with each passing day. Blanche had dared not visit me again, or if she had, she had kept herself out of sight. Ella still hadn't responded to my letter I wrote while in the forest. I had written her another one about a week after I got married. James had also written a small note to Christopher, and I had sealed it into an envelope, but I had yet to send it. It sat there on my desk, waiting to go.

The only problem with sending it would mean I would have to ask one of the servants to go down into the village and give it to the delivery boy.

And my situation with both Martha and Helen had not improved very much since that first day I met them. If anything, if had managed to get worse.

They both took unending joy in making me feel upset and angry. Neither of them could read, so I couldn't ask for anything from them. The only time they actually behaved themselves was when James was around, and then they were little angels. I wanted to rip their hair out for it.

I had tried to ignore it. I really had. But it was always up to me to be the bigger person, the one to rise above it. And I was sick of it. I was sick of having to do things because of other people. I was tired of having to defend myself against those girls, tired of having to struggle for my position with James, utterly sick of being silent for the good of my family. I knew I shouldn't resent them; they hadn't wanted to be curse. But here we were, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore the undying hate that had settled inside me for this curse.

I thought I hated that Faerie when he had cursed them. But now, after two months of hell, I was ready to do far more than kill him for what he had done to me.

The other thing that having far too much time on my hands had done, was to make me look back. Especially to that day when we were all cursed.

The faerie had said something to me, something that I hadn't really thought much about at the time.

He had said I was already under a spell. Something to do with memories. Memories of a ginger haired boy.

Was it possible? Was I under yet another spell? I didn't remember having ever met anyone with ginger hair, let alone a boy. I'd never been near boys really until I met James. He was the only one who'd ever shown the slightest bit of interest in me. And now, I was starting to doubt that even that was genuine.

Was this really how the rest of my life was going to be? Or at least the next ten months. Ten months before I could have a proper conversation with James. What if he didn't like me when I could speak? But at the rate I was going, it was doubtful that he even liked me when I couldn't speak.

Our wedding night had been the one time I'd had any real hope. Hope that maybe we might grow to love each other, that everything would work out like in an old folk tale. He had kissed me that night like he might sweep me off my feet. And when he had snuck into my room, he had called me 'My love.'

It had been the only time. Never since then had he repeated himself.

But I found, more and more, that I wanted him to.

I really did.

He was kind, and handsome and caring. He talked to me, and made me smile. He had made this hell I was living through seem a little more bearable. He'd been there for me when I was at my lowest. He had married me to help me, to help my entire family.

I knew I had liked him, for a good long while. From before we were married. And if anything, my feelings towards him had grown since then. The part of my day I most looked forward to was when we would just sit in the drawing room, he would talk to me, and I would write replies. It was the closest to a real conversation we had gotten. I looked forward to seeing him. But I was almost certain I wasn't the highlight of his day. I would never be.

I had too many doubts. And the silence still pressed in on me from every side. I had no control over my own life anymore, I hadn't really had any since the day my father had died. The day I had made that vow.

How well that had turned out for me.

Since that day, I had done so many things, and every single choice had been because of that vow to my family.

I had been implicated in their curse because I couldn't keep my mouth shut, and I had tried to defend them.

I had been silent for just over two months because I knew I had to take care of them.

I had run away from home because the curse they had brought on us had made the village hate us.

I had been thrown out of the cottage because I still couldn't speak to defend myself, and I had to break the curse.

I had been married, to a man I really barely knew, because it would put a roof over their heads.

None of it was for me. I got nothing.

And so, here I was, still silent, with a husband I doubted cared for me at all, stuck for many more months, trapped in a place where the only other company hated me.

I could live with Helen and Martha hating me. That was easy.

But not James.

I didn't know if I would be able to stand it if he rejected me. If I found he didn't care for me in the way I cared for him.

Maybe this was my punishment, for letting them be cursed in the first place. I had broken that vow I had made to my dying Father, and I had let them be cursed at Springbloom. My silence wasn't good enough suffering for me, so they made me fall for a man and then made me watch as he revealed slowly that he didn't care for me in that way.

I deserved it. I deserved all of this.

A loud scream interrupted my musings, and my head snapped to the source of the sound.

A second scream joined the first. It was coming from the guest bedroom that was adjacent to my own.

I placed down the quill I held in my hand quickly, and walked out of my bedroom towards the screaming. The door was open, and inside were both Helen and Martha.

Helen was stood on the bed, her eyes wide with fear. Martha had assumed a similar position on a chair. Both were staring at the floor.

I stepped inside the room, and braced myself for the usual cruel and hateful torments that came flying my way. But both of them were too busy screaming at something on the ground.

'There!' Helen cried, pointing to her left, her eyes following the line of her finger. Martha jumped off the chair, with a broom in hand. I looked towards the direction she was pointing in.

Martha moved suddenly, bringing down her broom to hit the floor with an almighty thwack.

'No, It's over there! Kill it!' Helen screamed again. I took another step inside the room, to see what she was pointing at.

Then, all of a sudden, something ran across the floor, right against the wall.

A flurry of brown fur. Tiny, but fast.

Martha brought her broom down again, but completely missed the small mouse, making her grunt in anger.

The mouse ran under the bed. Helen screamed some more. Martha had already knelt down to try and look under the bed for it.

But I fell to my knees right away. Was it just an ordinary mouse? Or Gwen? I hadn't seen it close enough to know the difference. My heart was in my mouth by the time I placed my head on the ground and looked under the bed.

Martha was already cursing the mouse soundly. I searched the dark dusty space for the small being. My veins felt like ice at the thought that it was Gwen. If it was, what was she doing in the house? In the daytime?

But there was no small creature. Martha huffed on the other side of the bed.

'What are you doing here? Aren't you too high and mighty to be dealing with rodents, like the rest of us?'

I ignored her. I needed to find that mouse. I couldn't risk Gwen being hurt.

'Where is it? Is it dead?' Helen asked from on top of the bed, her voice still high pitched from terror.

'It's gone. But if we wait here, we'll catch it.' Martha told her, and stood up.

I however, remained on the floor, still frantically looking. Where was she?

Then, as if by magic, she scurried across the floor under the bed, and made her way towards me. She stood just before me, and hoisted herself up onto her back to legs to give me a small wave with her paw.

It was her. Definitely my baby sister.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that she was unharmed. I placed my palm out for her to run into which she did immediately. Then, I pushed myself up off my knees, and began to stand up.

What I was not expecting, is a broom to almost whack me. I barely saw it coming before it collided with my shoulder.

Instinctively, I turned my body away, moving my hand and Gwen out of harm's way. The handle hit me square in the shoulder, and I felt Gwen jump out of my hand, her paws scratching slightly as she leapt.

Pain laced through my arm and down my back, and I had to bite my lip hard to stop a cry of hurt escaping my mouth. It really hurt, wood against bone.

I whirled on the girls now stood behind me.

'Sorry, didn't see you there.' Martha sneered. 'I was aiming for the mouse.'

I didn't have time to get angry before Helen squealed again, and pointed. Martha pushed me out of the way and took one step closer to Gwen.

I didn't think.

I just moved.

Standing, I reached for the broom which Martha held in her hand, raised in front of her, ready to smack Gwen. Only in my haste, I managed to miss the broom completely. My hand and nails instead collided with another surface.

Martha's face.

She cried out as my nails accidentally bit into her cheek. My hand was going too fast to stop, and her head tilted with the force of the slap. Then, my hand had left her face and was once again falling through air.

I stumbled trying to correct my standing position.

Martha's broom clattered to the ground, and Helen screamed again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gwen make for the open bedroom door, and scurry through it, out of sight and into safety.

But, what I was really focusing on, was the expression on the two servant girl's faces.

Martha's hand had instantly moved to her cheek, covering it up. Helen looked terrified, but Martha looked both shocked and murderous at the same time.

Any other time, at another moment in my life, I would have cowered from it. Apologised for my accidental smack. But she had almost just killed Gwen. I was not in a mood to be polite and apologetic.

Martha continued to stare at me. I thought for a good long moment she was going to slap me back, or possibly worse. I didn't care. She had threatened my family, and I was not going to stand for that.

'What on earth,' Came a shout from the staircase, 'Is going on! All I can hear is shouts and screams!'

I turned slowly as James came running from the stairs to the room we were all stood inside.

'Lady Marion attacked me!' Martha spat out, as soon as James walked into the room. Helen behind her nodded.

I swallowed. It had been an accident, and she knew it.

James blinked in disbelief, and stared between me and Martha. Just to prove her point, Martha lowered her hand to reveal a ripe red mark across her face, scratch mark also clearly visible.

'She attacked me for no reason. We were only cleaning out the room.' She said, in the most false sickly sweet voice I had ever heard in my life.

I glared at her. She knew it wasn't unprovoked. Even the broom to the shoulder had given me cause to do it. James whirled on me.

'Is this true?' He demanded.

'It is!' Helen piped up from behind Martha.

'Be quiet!' James shouted at her.

I simply stood there in silent disbelief. He had just taken her word for it. There was anger in his eyes, I could see it, boiling just behind the surface.

I wasn't going to be subjected to this. I wasn't going to stand in silence and let them poison him against me. I wasn't going to let them judge me, while I stood watching.

So, I simply turned on my heels and left the room.

Jams shouted something to the girls about getting some ice or something, but I was too mad to listen.

How dare they! How utterly dare they!?

I walked back into my room, but I could hear James's footsteps directly behind me, so I left the door open. He slammed it shut behind him.

'Care to explain?' He asked, in an annoyed tone.

Anger was building up inside me, I could feel it. They had the nerve to try and kill her, and then make it all out like it was my fault. Those little bitches!

The frustration got the better of me, and I kicked the chair that was standing before me, until it fell on its side with a loud bang.

My hands were clenched into fists, and my lips were pressed tightly together.

'Marion?' James asked, softer this time.

Breathing deeply, I let myself almost flop onto the bed. I was so mad, so angry.

'What happened?' He asked again, but his tone was getting more and more gentle.

I on the other hand was only getting more and more annoyed, so I stood and walked to the desk, where I ripped a piece of paper from the top of the file grabbed the quill.

 _They were going to kill Gwen!_

I threw it at James, hitting him squarely in the chest with it. He just about caught it before it fell to the ground. He scrambled with it for a second before he could read what was written there. His eyes went wide with shock as he saw it.

'Oh.' Was all he said

My hands clenched even tighter at that. My sister had almost been killed by his servants, and all he could say was 'Oh'!

Glaring at him, I began to write some more.

 _Tried to hit Gwen with a broom. I found her, they hit me with the broom and then went for her again. I tried to get the broom, but got Martha's face instead. Gwen ran off._

I didn't even bother throwing it at him his time. I simply left it on the desk, and let him walk over to read It, while I sat on the edge of the bed, still trying to curb my anger.

James read it quickly, and then took a deep breath.

'So, that's why.' He muttered.

I just nodded.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so mad at you. I didn't know.' He told me.

I stared at the floor, and didn't move.

'I know it's infuriating, but they didn't know that Gwen is your sister. To them, she's just a mouse, a pest. And they're paid to keep this house clean. You can see where the confusion had come from.'

I still didn't move. I didn't want his excuses for them.

James moved to sit next to me on the bed, the only time he had done so since the day after our wedding.

'They didn't mean it. They were just doing their job. I understand that you're angry, but when you think you can, would you be able to forgive them?' he asked, taking my hand gently. His fingers danced over my wedding ring, that now fit my finger perfectly. 'Please?'

I didn't want to, and I thought James was an idiot if he thought that I could forgive everything they had done.

But then again, James did not know how horrid they were to me. Whenever he was around, they were always a good as gold. He had no idea how they treated me when his back was turned.

I released a long deep breath. I knew, that once again, I had to do the right thing, and rise above it. I had to be the one to forgive them. I always had to be the one who was sensible.

I shrugged, and James took that as a 'I'll consider it.' His hands lifted my hand to his lips, and he pressed a soft kiss to the back of my hand. My gaze followed it, and I found myself wishing that he was kissing my lips, not my hand. I wanted him to tell me that he cared for me, and that he wouldn't listen to those horrible girls. I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and tell me everything was going to be alright, and it would all work itself out in the end.

But he did none of those things. Instead, he gave me a swift kiss on the back of my hand and lowered it again. Standing, he brushed down his jacket, and headed for the door, telling me he was going to check on the girls. I only nodded, not having the strength or the energy to challenge him. He gave me another small smile, and closed the door behind him.

I fell back onto the bed. Hurt and angry, I lay there as I thought about the way my life had turned out, and it was nothing like I had hoped it would be.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four.**

The rest of the day did not get any better. I lay on my bed for a long time, attempting to calm myself down. No good would come of sinking to their level.

There were no more shouts or screams, so I knew that Gwen had gotten away safely. I still had no clue as to why she had been in the house in the daylight. I had told Alexander to tell them all that they shouldn't be there. Clearly the message hadn't gotten through.

Once the part of me that wanted to punch them in the face had begun to shrink back to the rear of my mind, I decided I needed something to distract me. And the only thing that I could really do to take my mind of the events of the morning was to read. At least it was good to know that there were many, many things I could choose from.

I made my way downstairs to the library, and searched the shelf for something I recognised. I didn't have the energy or determination for something new. My gaze fluttered over the spines, until I settled on an old copy of the folk tales of Exodia. I pulled it off the shelf, and fell into the nearby chair. Flicking through the familiar pages, I sighed and found the tale about the princess who fell in love with the servant boy. I needed something happy and hopeful to try and lift my spirits.

The time passed, as I immersed myself in the story, watching it come to life in my mind. I began to forget about the horrid servants and the strain with James, and the curse over my own family. The story had always made me feel better. It was similar to Ella's life, and I knew how happy they were; it always showed that everything can turn out for the best.

It distracted me, and made me feel better. The story reminded me of home, and growing up in a time where Mother and Father were alive and well, and everything was good.

Before I realised it, the story had come to its happy conclusion, and I moved onto the next one, the one about the knight's quest. I was so wrapped up in it, I almost didn't hear the knock at the door.

When it sounded again, I looked up from the book and glanced towards it. Making sure to keep my mouth closed, so I didn't shout 'Come in' I placed the book down and walked over to the closed door.

I swung the door open, and behind it, stood Helen.

My stomach dropped to the floor. I didn't want to see her. I didn't want to see either of them.

A lovely large smile was plastered onto her face, and she gave me a polite curtsey.

I knew instantly it was all just an act. She would never give me a display of that sort of respect unless James was around, or she wanted something. And I was not in the mood to be nice to her.

'Excuse me, M'lady. But the Master wants to see you in the green Drawing room. It's urgent.'

Even her voice sounded fake. It irritated me to absolutely no end.

She then turned on her heel and left the room.

I took a deep breath, knowing that James wouldn't send them to get me, unless it was actually urgent.

So, I stepped out of the door, and moved towards the closed door of the drawing room. I huffed out another breath, and pushed it open.

To my surprise, the room was empty.

There was no one.

Not even James.

I looked all around, but there was no one there. I even took a step inside, still trying to see if he was around the corner.

Nothing.

Cursing myself for believing Helen, I moved to turn back around, when something caught my eye.

A sheet of paper lay flat on the small table in front of the chair.

And one large shape was drawn on it.

An arrow.

There was a large arrow, drawn in ink, lying on the table.

Instinctively, I followed the line of the arrow with my eyes. It pointed to the left, past the armchair, and towards the fire.

The lovely roaring fire.

I looked back at the arrow, still not quite understanding what was going on. But then I looked back at the fire.

And more specifically what was on the fire.

There was something perched on top of the logs and coals, something that looked peculiar.

I took a step towards the fireplace, trying to see what exactly it was.

Only when I was right in front of it, did I finally realise what I was seeing.

It was a book, burning away.

But not just any book.

My book.

The small notebook James had given me. The one that held all of the ideas I'd had, the stories I had wanted to write.

It was on the fire, being burnt up into ashes.

My heart stopped.

 _No._

No, this wasn't happening.

Without realising it, I had knelt down before the fire, still staring at my charred book. My hands fumbled around trying to find something I could use to get it out.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. This couldn't be happening. They wouldn't be this cruel!

All of the work I had done in the last month was going up in smoke before my very eyes.

Those cruel, evil, vindictive bitches.

Biting my lip hard, I fought down the urge to cry out for help, or just to cry out in anguish.

My book was being burned, more of it falling away into grey ash by the second.

Finally, my hand found something, a metal rod. I glanced down and saw it was the fire poker. I grabbed it and began to try and pull the book towards me, out of the flame, but the fire that was consuming it only seemed to grow more intense.

Pushing it closer and closer towards me, my arm ached as it finally fell of the top of the burning logs and onto the cold stone floor of the fire place.

Without thinking, I reached forward to grab it. But only when my hand closed around the top of the book did I realise that the flames were not entirely out.

Pure agony exploded from my palm as the flames scorched my skin. A loud yelp rose up in my throat, but I swallowed it down, along with the lump that was building. The tears jumped free from my eyes at the pain, and ran down my face. I snatched my hand back, out of the heat, and held it gently in my other hand. But the pain hadn't gone. It lingered, and I rocked myself back and forwards on my knees, trying to ignore it. I hadn't realised I was biting so hard on my lip until a familiar coppery taste filled my mouth, and I found that I had made myself bleed with the effort of keeping silent.

I could speak, I wasn't going to cry out, I wasn't going to scream.

Two months of silence. I was too far along to stop now. I was not going to go through another year of hell, not after all this time.

I could feel the blistered forming on my hand now, each of them red and raw, and hurt like the devil. The tears continued to fall from the pain and the sadness that flooded through me.

My little book lay before me, completely burnt up.

None of the pages were fixable, they had all turned a horrid shade of grey. Parts were breaking off and falling to the ground, only to mix with the ashes and dirt.

All that work, all that time, just gone. In a few short seconds.

A loud laugh came from the door way, and my head whipped up to see both Helen and Martha cackling with glee. Both had a look of pure joy lining their faces.

'Oh dear, what a horrible accident.' Martha chuckled.

I froze.

I made myself freeze.

I knew that if I moved, I would do a lot more than simply slap her.

I would enjoy doing a lot more than just slapping her.

But, there was so much sadness within me. Sadness that was over riding the anger I felt towards her.

I just felt empty.

The one thing I had had for myself since I got here, the one thing that had actually made me feel productive and good, was gone.

What was even the point of fighting anymore. Why bother trying to do anything that made me feel good? Those two would just find a way to ruin it.

'What the hell is going on now?' Came another loud shout from the entrance hall.

Both Helen and Martha froze. Their spines stiffened and the smiles instantly dropped off their faces.

I turned back to look at the remains of my book. The tears were still pouring from my eyes, and they splashed onto the cinders covering the fireplace floor. They had ruined it. They had got what they wanted. They had really hurt me this time.

I heard footsteps, and expected to be shouted at, again. After all, that's all he had done this morning, just shouted at me without wanting to hear my side until I had thrown it at him.

But the footsteps didn't stop at the door like I expected them to. No, instead, he walked right up to me and I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders. My face was pressed against the top of his chest as I sobbed silently. His head tilted down so he could see what exactly I was crying about. When his gaze met the burnt book, I felt him tighten his grip around me.

'You two, get out of my sight, now!' He yelled at them. This was then followed by two light pairs of footsteps running away quickly.

I couldn't see any of it. My vision was completely blurred from the tears that were still falling.

They had destroyed the one thing I had liked about this place. The one thing that had given me any sense of joy.

James's strong arms held me tightly as I cried and cried. His hand rubbed soothingly up and down my back.

'I'm sorry Marion. I had no idea. I'm really sorry.' He whispered.

I heard the words, but they didn't comfort me very much. It was too little too late. It had happened, they had ruined my life here.

Great heaving sobs rose in my chest. The tears fell and fell and fell.

Why were they so horrid to me? What did I ever do to deserve any of this?

James simply held onto my tightly, and kissed the top of my head.

Once the massive sobs had begun to die down a little, he lessened his grip on me, and moved his hand to wipe away my tears.

'Will you be alright here for a few minutes, there's something I need to do.' He told me.

I nodded. I could get myself together, I could get past this. I was not going to let them win. The flow of tears began to cry up a little, and I pushed the last few ones away.

James gave me another quick kiss to the top of my head, and then stood and almost ran out of the door.

I took several shuddering breaths. The poor grey remains of my book still sat on the cold stone, falling slowly to pieces.

Now that the sadness had ebbed a little, the rage that I had surpressed came flooding to the surface.

How dare they? How honestly dare they do something like this?

A muffled shout came from across the entrance hall, and I looked towards it.

It was James's voice; I'd recognise it anywhere. And he was certainly yelling about something.

I was too far away to hear exactly what was being said, so I picked myself up off the floor and walked silently over to the stairs to the kitchen. They were all down there, every word drifting up the small staircase. I stood with my back to the wall, listening.

'I have never before seen such cruel behaviour! Such horrid and nasty and mean thing to do! You are paid to do your job and serve the family who live in this house. But now I see that you have not been doing that, and instead torturing my wife! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?' He yelled.

He was defending me. He was siding with me over them.

'We're sorry, it was an accident.' I heard Martha mutter in a quiet voice.

'You liar! You know damned well that was no accident. I saw you laughing at her! She's your mistress, no, not even that, she is another human being! And you have spent I don't know how long making her miserable and upset! And burning private property is not allowed, in this house, or any house! For goodness sake, have the decency to tell me why you would do that!' He shouted.

My head moved closer and closer to the doorframe. I wanted to know what their excuse was.

'She attacked me. She deserved it.' Martha almost snapped back.

No sound came up the stairs. The kitchen had gone deadly quiet.

'No she didn't. She didn't attack you. Marion would never do anything like that, so I know you are lying. She told me what happened.' He said, in an angry tone.

'Oh, did she?' Martha crooned back. 'She told you? The silent whore who can't speak told you that?'

I froze.

Silent Whore?

Is that really what she thought of me?

I should have felt upset, but after all that they had done, I almost expected it. What I did feel though, was pure terror at the thought of how James might be reacting.

'Say that again.' He said, through gritted teeth. I held my breath at the top of the stairs.

A small female laugh.

'Oh please. You married her in secret, and there was no blood on the sheets after the wedding night. She's some whore you picked up somewhere who tricked you, and is now living off your money and land. I thought you were smarter than that. Clearly I was mistaken. And I for one will never serve someone who sells herself to the highest bidder. I have more respect for myself than that.'

My hands were shaking and I didn't even realise it. The pain from the blisters was beginning to die down a little.

That was what she thought of me?

That's what all this had been about?

I didn't care anymore. Didn't even let the things she said about me touch me. She was a stupid ignorant girl who couldn't see what was right in front of her nose.

Me, someone who sold myself?

The idea was almost comical. I knew it should hurt me, but it made me want to laugh! I knew nothing about any of that, and the fact she thought I did, just showed how stupid she was. Also, the idea that anyone would find me attractive enough to want to do any of that was simply absurd. I wasn't beautiful.

But, the thing that made my blood run cold was the thought of what James was doing in the Kitchen. Silence had fallen after Martha had finished her little speech.

'You know nothing,' James spat out, 'Nothing about Marion. You have no idea what has happened to her, and you have absolutely no right to judge her. She is the strongest and most caring person I know, and you have the nerve to say you have more respect for yourself? Marion is a hundred times the woman you will ever be, and is more worthy of respect than you will ever be.'

My heart stopped.

My breathing stopped.

Everything stopped.

Did he mean that?

Did my husband really think that of me?

He respected me that much?

'Well, she's still a common whore to me!' Martha said.

I wasn't even listening to her anymore. I really didn't care.

My mind was still whirring with what James thought of me.

I couldn't believe it. He really respected me!

My heart soared.

This is what James really thought of me!

I couldn't surpress the smile that was forming on my cheeks.

All that mattered is that James really thought that of me.

I sighed at that. He really wanted me to be happy.

'You have till the end of the day to get out of my house!' James snarled. 'I'm not even going to pay you till the end of the week. I'll send your wages on to your homes. But now, I can't stand the sight of either of you!'

The corners of my mouth perked up.

They were going.

I couldn't care less about what they were going to do.

I wanted them gone, out of my life.

A muffled shriek came out of Helen's mouth.

'But…. But….!'

'I don't care. Get out of my house, right now!' He yelled.

My small smile bloomed into a full grin. They were gone! Out of my life.

'Fine. Who would want to work here anyway? Good luck finding anyone else who will put up with that slut!' Martha yelled.

'NOW!' James roared.

There was a scurry of footsteps, and I knew they were coming up the stairs. I looked around frantically, and ran into the dining room, and closed the door a little behind me, leaving a small gap for me to peer through. The was a flurry of movement, and hushed whispers as they ran up the servant's stairs to their rooms.

The smile just kept getting larger and larger. I knew I should feel bad for making them lose their jobs, but I really couldn't care. They deserved this. They could deal with the consequences of their actions.

Leaning against the door, I felt myself breathe easy for the first time since I had arrived at the manor.

A loud smash resounded around the house. I jumped at the sudden sound, almost hitting my head against the wooden door.

James was still down there, and by the sounds of it, still very mad. I was almost scared to go down to the kitchen, and briefly debated just running up to my room.

But he had just done that, for me. He had defended me and had kicked them out of the house, for me.

I took a deep breath, and then walked out of the dining room, and down the stairs. The door to the kitchen was open, and light flooded the small staircase.

James was leaning on the kitchen table, his hands gripping tightly to the wood. So tightly in fact that the whites of his knuckles were showing. He looked up when he saw that I was stood in the doorway, and the wrath in his face quickly melted to sorrow.

'I'm sorry, I just…' He said.

I didn't want to hear his apologies. Didn't want to hear his excuses. So, I walked up to him quickly, placed my hand gently on his face, and kissed him.

He almost jumped back in surprise. His lips detached from mine for a moment, and I thought he was going to run away. But instead, he looked at me curiously. It was only for a fraction of a second, but I saw it. But before I could react, he had placed his lips back on my own, and kissed me deeply. His arms found their way to my waist and I held his face. My burnt palm hung at my side, the pain subsiding with every second.

He kissed me over and over and over again, and I found I never wanted it to end. He pulled me in tighter to him, until I was pressed firmly against him. He hadn't kissed me like this since our wedding night, over a month ago. The part of my heart that had doubted everything began to close up a little. James had defended me, he respected me, and now he was kissing me like he liked me.

He eventually pulled away, and pressed his forehead to mine, a large smile on his face.

'You heard everything, didn't you?' He breathed, his voice a little hoarse.

I nodded. There was no point even trying to deny it.

He sighed loudly.

'I didn't mean to lose my temper. And I suppose I'll have to clean up my own mess as we now have no servants.'

My gazed shifted to past his shoulder, to where a bowl had been smashed on the floor. It was lying in hundreds of pieces.

'I just couldn't believe that they did that! I had no idea that anything was going on. Why didn't you tell me?' He asked, raising his hand to cup my cheek.

I bit the inside of my lip. Maybe I should have told him, instead of keeping it bottled up.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and a pencil. James let go of my face to let me lean over the table and write.

 _I didn't want to cause you more trouble._

James gently squeezed my shoulder when he read it.

'You wouldn't have been causing any trouble. Not if you were unhappy. I should have noticed; I should have done something earlier.' He told me.

I gave him a look, trying to convey that I hadn't wanted to make him feel this way.

 _You weren't to know. Don't blame yourself._

He let out a long sigh when he saw the words.

'But it is. You're my wife, I should be making you as happy as possible, by not letting the servants torment you.'

Giving him a sad smile, I leaned in a gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

I felt terrible for making him feel like it was his fault. It was those girls to blame, and no one else. But he seemed genuinely upset that he hadn't done anything. I watched him for a few moments, and he was really affected by this.

Did he really care that much about my happiness?

My heart almost stopped at the sight of it. I hadn't had anyone care about my happiness in such a long time. No one. Not even my family. It wasn't their fault that they had made me feel this way, but having to break this curse for them was one of the most miserable things I had ever done. Every single second of it was torture.

But James cared. He wanted me to be happy.

Not just live through the next year, he actually wanted me to enjoy it as much as I could.

He cared.

Nervousness built up inside me, as a thought entered my head. I wasn't entirely sure if I was ready to be this open with him, but I knew that I was never going to find out if I didn't ask. My hand shook slightly and my throat went dry as I reached for the pencil again.

 _Can I ask you something?_

James only nodded.

I took another deep breath, and tried to calm the butterflies that had formed in my stomach. I just had to know, I just wanted to be put out of my misery.

 _Do you care for me?_

My hand hadn't even finished moving before James's head whipped around to look at me, his eyes wide with shock.

'What sort of a question is that?' He asked.

My heart sunk. I knew it. Somewhere deep inside me, I had known that he didn't. My head tilted downward without any thought on my part.

'Marion, why would you ever think that I didn't?' He said.

As fast as lightning, my head shot up. He was still looking at me with a shocked expression.

'You….' He started, 'You actually think I don't care for you?'

Swallowing, I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. My life had turned on its head so quickly that I hardly knew what to think anymore. In three months, I had been orphaned, cursed and married. Everything had happened so fast that I hadn't had time to really consider things. Not like I used to.

'Oh, Marion.' James said, rubbing his hands over his face. 'No, no, no. That couldn't be further from the truth.'

I dared not breath. I didn't even dare blink.

Was this true?

Was this actually happening?

Did he really just say that?

Was I imagining things?

I was so scared, so scared that I had just misheard him. I didn't want to let myself hope, only to have it ripped away again.

James lowered his hand from his face, and just stared at me confused.

'How, how do you… How do you not know?' He said, shaking his head a little.

A shuddering breath escaped me. I had wanted him to say something like that for so long, that now I was actually hearing it, I didn't seem real.

I picked up the pencil again, and began to write.

 _We've barely kissed since our wedding night. You don't seem like you care for me as a wife, but as a close friend. If this is true, then I just want to know._

I passed the piece of paper to James who was still staring at me with confusion. He looked down at the paper in his hand. I watched as his eyes ran over the words.

He released a long sigh, and then looked up to me again.

'Marion.' He said, 'I…I just…'

He swallowed and ran his hand through his hair.

'Oh for goodness sake, this is getting ridiculous. There is no way for me to win with this!' He exclaimed. 'I either annoy you or your brother. There is no middle ground!'

Confusion ran through me. What was he talking about? My head tilted to the side, trying to get him to elaborate.

James smiled a little, and reached for my hand. Interlinking our fingers, he took a deep breath.

'I'm very sorry, if I have given off that impression. I really didn't mean to.' He began.

I was completely sure that he could hear my heart beating, the sound of it roared through me.

'Marion, of course I care for you. Very deeply. Do you think I offer to marry just any girl I meet in the forest?'

I shrugged my shoulders a little, jokingly.

James's huffed a small laugh, but then went back to looking straight at me.

'It's just, if anything, my feeling for you have grown, far more than I thought they would in a month.'

Pure elation ran through my veins. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

'But, there is the small matter of both your brother and your friend.' He sighed. 'And also, this curse.'

I didn't react, but simply waited for him to elaborate.

'I promised your brother, on our wedding day, that I wouldn't touch you, at all. Not until after the curse was broken. But even if it is broken and you still decided you don't want to, then that is completely alright' He clarified. 'But I also promised him that even if you did want to, and you were still cursed, then I wouldn't.'

My jaw fell open in astonishment. Alexander had been talking to James about…that? I didn't even want to know why my younger brother had thought it appropriate to be discussing that with the person I was marrying. And why on earth had Alexander thought that he was the authority on my choice! I knew I would be having stern words with him later.

'Also, your friend Bianca.' James started. 'You witnessed her threat. And I think you know as well as I that she seems like she would deliver on that if it came to it. And since you don't know how she finds out things, I'm honestly still looking over my shoulder for her, constantly.'

I smiled a little. Blanche would actually kill him if he tried anything. Of that, I was certain.

But that couldn't be all the reasons why he had been distant. He would still have been able to kiss me, and hold me, even with those promises.

James took a deep breath, and squeezed my hand.

'But, there is also this curse as well.' He said.

I stood and waited for him to continue, my heart hammering in my chest.

'Marion, I would like nothing more than to spend my days with you, getting closer to you and letting my feelings grow. But, I know that if that happens, I know where things lead.'

His head hung before him.

'I probably should have told you, but you are not the first girl I've been close to. There have been others, who now mean nothing to me. I don't think they ever really did. But I know how one thing leads to another, and it will get harder and harder to keep those promises I made. It's why I walk away every night. I have to, because I know that if I let myself stay for any longer, then I will fall more and more for you.'

I wasn't entirely sure I was breathing.

I wasn't sure that I was still in the real world.

I wasn't sure I was hearing those words.

'And regardless of the promises I made, there are some lines that I shouldn't cross. There are things I couldn't make you do. That would be far too unfair.'

I didn't understand his meaning, so I gestured for him to elaborate. He took a deep breath, his cheeks colouring a little. His gaze fell to the floor beneath him.

'What if…What if it led somewhere. To bed.' He said.

Even I had to look away. I never had to have such an honest conversation with anyone about this. Embarrassment filled me.

'And, if that were to happen,' James started. 'You could find yourself with child.'

My heart stopped.

I froze.

'And by my calculations, you still have ten months left of silence. Which would mean that you would have to endure the entire pregnancy, silent.' He said, in a very quiet tone. 'Including, giving birth.'

All the colour drained from my face.

My mother had been with child enough times that I knew probably more than most girls did at my age about being with child. I hadn't been in the room when any of my siblings were born, but I had been in the house.

And giving birth was not something that could be done silently.

At all.

It was an impossible task.

'So, you would have to choose, your child or your siblings. And I could never force that choice on you. That would be far too cruel.'

I looked up to him. He still was staring at the floor.

I hadn't even thought about that. It had never crossed my mind. About what growing closer to each other might lead to. While it would seem lovely at the time, there were consequences to all my actions now, and those not only affected me, but my entire family.

Once again, my happiness came second. As it always did.

But James…

He had wanted to save me from having to make that choice. Not that I would have let it progress that far. I had just wanted to know why he had been distant. But he had done what he had thought was the best, for everyone in the long term.

'So, I realise now that being distant might have been harsh on you, and you don't deserve it. But, please try to understand, I was only trying to do what is best.'

I swallowed the lump that had been building up in my throat.

He did care.

He cared more than I had dared hope.

And as I stared at him, I found that my heart began to beat with something I had long missed.

Hope.

I had hope once more.

It wasn't perfect, but what was?

I had hope again, that everything would turn out for the best.

Because if James cared for me, then he would soon find out that I returned those feelings.

I had thought all of this to be only one sided. How had I ever doubted him?

His methods might have been a little misguided, but we had only been married a month. And before that, we had only been courting for three days. Of course there were bound to be things that we didn't know about why the other behaved the way we did.

But, we'd have to discover them, together.

James was still staring at the floor when I placed my hand gently on his face.

He looked up, his lovely green eyes meeting my own.

'I'm sorry. I thought it was for the best.' He said, his voice hoarse.

My hand dropped, and I picked up the pencil and began to write.

 _There is nothing to apologise for. But from now on, don't try and push me away. I care for you deeply too, and it's only going to make us both miserable if we try and stay away from each other until the end of the curse. We won't let things get that far. Please don't push me out._

Slowly, I handed it to James. His mouth perked up a little at the corners when he read it.

'You care for me deeply?' He asked, hope dancing in his eyes.

Part of my wanted to tease him, and roll my eyes, but this was not the time. So instead, I nodded.

A large grin spread across his face as he took my hand in his again.

'Alright, no more pushing you away. You are right, it won't do any good really.' He said, rubbing his finger over the back of my hand.

I squeezed his hand back, making his smile spread even wider. His slowly lifted my hand up to his face, and planted a soft kiss on the back of it.

'My lady Marion.' He said softly.

I gave him a small smile.

James let my hand drop and took a deep breath.

'I know you are a lady now, but I believe I require your experiences as a servant. Do you know how to clean up this mess?' He asked, pointing over his shoulder to the smashed bowl.

I almost laughed as he looked at the small shards of pottery like it was some puzzle to be solved. I moved around the kitchen and grabbed the brush that was leaning against the wall. Picking it up with ease, I threw it to him, handle first.

James looked a little confused, but caught it. I moved back to the table, and grabbed the pencil again.

 _As you pointed out, I am a lady. You can clean up your own mess._

James peered across the table to see what I had written. His mouth fell open when he saw it.

'Power had gone to your head.' He mumbled, mockingly.

I walked confidently over to the chair, and took a seat, my arms folded, and waited for him to start sweeping. James just gave me a mock bow, and began to sweep the shards up into a pile. I grabbed the paper again and wrote.

 _Well, as we now have no servants, you've got a lot of learning about housework to do._

He looked up from where he was sweeping to glance at the paper in my hand.

'I suppose I do.' He said, his smug tone returning to his voice. 'But I need a teacher for that. Someone who can do housework remarkably well, and is also very beautiful.'

I did roll my eyes at him for that. He just smirked at me from across the room.

'Now, where can I find one?' He asked.

I shrugged. He laughed.

And I thought it might have been the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. Just to hear his joy.

How I missed being able to laugh. The simple exclamation of happiness.

But I could hear James, my husband who really cared for me. And I knew then, that not everything was so bad. I might be an orphan who couldn't speak, but I had a husband who cared.

And that might just have been enough.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five.**

That evening, both James and myself went to see my family. We walked up the stairs to the attic, something I was very grateful for as it was raining. Without Helen and Martha around, there was no need to keep up the pre-tense that I was going into the village to deliver alms for the poor. James unlocked the door, and we were greeted by several shouts of hello from various members of my family. James began distributing food to my family, but I went straight up to Alexander and tugged on his arm. He looked at me curiously but didn't object when I pointed for him to go outside, into the hallway. I also grabbed Gwen, who was looking a little nervous, and we walked out into the hallway.

My baby sister clung to my hand as I led her outside. Alexander just looked between the two of us, with a very confused look on his face.

'What's the matter?' He asked me.

I looked down to Gwen, and gave her a small nudge. She could speak, it was better if she told him. But she only looked to the floor, her hand still clasping mine tightly.

'Gwen?' Alexander asked.

She still didn't look up.

I indicated for Alexander to wait one minute and let go of Gwen's hand. Peeking my head around the door, I motioned for James to join us. He did so immediately.

Alexander looked even more confused when James entered. I gave my husband a sort of nod, to indicate that I would like him to explain.

'I believe what Marion is trying to say, is that there was an incident today.' James said.

I felt Gwen reached for my hand and grasp it again. My heart went out to her. I didn't want her to get into trouble, but I just wanted to know why she had been in the house when she was not supposed to have been.

'What happened?' Alexander asked immediately.

'Gwen was in one of the upstairs bedrooms when the servants were cleaning it. She gave them quite a fright, and they tried to hit her with the broom.'

Alexander's head snapped to Gwen.

'Gwen? Are you alright?' he asked, kneeling down before her. Her lip trembled as she walked towards him and let herself be wrapped up in his arms.

'They were really loud. And they wouldn't go away!' She sniffed.

'Anyway, Marion intervened, and the servants are gone now. They won't be bothering you anymore Gwen.' James said kindly.

She sniffled a little, and nuzzled her head into Alexander's shoulder. He held her tightly, rubbing her arms slightly.

'But I believe what Marion wants to know, is why she was in the house? I thought we had all agreed that it was for the best that you don't go into the main house, especially not in daylight.' James told him.

Alexander continued to hold Gwen, but he looked down at her.

'Why were you there?' He asked softly.

Gwen bit her lip and looked down to the floor again.

'I just wanted to see it. It's so big from the outside. I wanted to explore. But then they found me, and… and… I couldn't run away.'

She burst into tears. I hated this, hated seeing my baby sister cry. Alexander whispered comforting words to her as he held her.

'Gwen?' James said, kneeling down in front of her. 'It's alright. You're not in trouble. And those nasty girls have gone home now. So how about tomorrow, I show you all of the house, and the secret passages? Would you like that.'

She sniffled a little bit, but nodded her head.

'Wait, you'll show her, in daylight?' Alexander asked, surprised.

From behind James, I nodded.

We had discussed it earlier.

'Well, yes. It was Marion's idea actually.' James told them.

Alexander looked from me to James, still confused.

Gwen had stopped crying and looked up to me. 'Can I have some dinner now?' She asked.

I smiled at her, and gestured for her to come with me.

I left James to explain to Alexander, and took Gwen to go and get some stew. The rest of my family were happily tucking into their food, and barely looked up when we came through the door.

I ladled out a bowl for Gwen and she took it carefully in two hands and sat down on the floor, next to Tom and Robbie.

As I placed the ladle back into the stew, I thought how nice it was going to be that this was the last time that my family would have to eat like this.

That was what James was telling Alexander about.

Seeing as though there were no longer any servants for my siblings to hide from, it seemed a little pointless to keep them hidden in the attic when there was an entire house that was lying mostly empty for them to live in. James had instantly agreed with me to move my family from their room to the main house. There were plenty of spare rooms, they just needed the beds making.

Which meant that I would be able to see them more, not just an hour or so on a night. They would be able to come and go as they pleased, and we could all eat dinner together around that massive table in the dining room. I would feel like I was part of the family again, not just someone who came to visit.

The door still hadn't opened to let Alexander and James return, so I took it upon myself to see what was taking so long. I walked up to the door silently and pulled it open.

'So there are four guest rooms, a room that used to be for a nanny, and three servant bedrooms. The bed in the nursery is a little too small for any of you, I think even Gwen is too big. How you assign each room is up to you, and if you all want to stay up here together, then that is also fine.'

Alexander nodded, as if he was still trying to take in all the information.

'Well, you are right, it does seem a little pointless to stay up here hiding when there is nothing to hide from. I'll tell them all about it, and will we be able to move tomorrow? Does that give you enough time to sort it all out?'

James nodded.

'I'm sure it will be, although I might be a little slow. Marion's having to teach me how to make beds.'

Alexander chuckled a little at that.

'Oh, you highborns.' He said.

I took a step forward, so I was stood next to James. He jumped a little when he realised that I was stood right there.

'Well, she is an excellent teacher, but unfortunately I have a very large gap in my knowledge of how to function without servants, so forgive me if I'm a little slow.'

It was true. I had spent the remainder of the day trying to teach him how to do basic chores by himself, and each task seemed to last about ten times longer than it did if it was me completing it.

I had made the dinner, for both us and my family. It actually felt good to be allowed to cook in the kitchen again, instead of having someone cook for you. It made me feel like I was once again useful, and I had a purpose. And while doing laundry and cooking and cleaning wasn't exactly my idea of fun, it felt good to know that I could actually do something useful. I had been so unhappy when I had nothing to do but sit and examine my own thoughts. But at least now, I had tasks to do, to complete.

James however, I didn't think that he was quite taking to housework like I was. But he tried, he really did. He didn't complain that he now had to scrub pots and chop vegetables, or make beds. He just did the task, making jokes with me all the way through.

I hadn't been able to help myself. All day, I had been stealing secret glances at him. Now I knew how he felt, it was almost impossible to ignore the large bubble of happiness that had enveloped me.

Because I felt the same back.

After an entire month of doubt, it felt good to know that all of my affection wasn't one sided. James had even kissed me like he had done when we were courting a few times over the course of the day. And I couldn't have been more thrilled.

It wasn't perfect. It was far from it. But it was a start.

'So, I'll tell everyone tonight, and we'll move all our things tomorrow?' Alexander clarified and I snapped out of my thoughts and back into reality.

James agreed with him, and gestured for us to all re-join the rest of the Browns. I shook my head, and pointed to Alexander. James seemed to understand what I was asking, and left to go back into the main room with my family, leaving me alone with my brother.

'So…' Alexander began, waiting for me to explain why I had held him back.

I pulled out the piece of paper I had written earlier, and passed it to him. He looked at me curiously, but unfolded it. I just waited for him to read what was written.

 _James and I had a discussion earlier, and he mentioned the promise he had made to you on our wedding day._

 _What on earth gives you the right to decide things like that for me? I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and I don't need my younger brother talking about that with my husband! You do not own me Alexander._

He went pale when he finished reading it. He looked up, his face bloodless.

'Arry.' He said, pleading with me.

I simply glared at him.

'I'm sorry. I just thought it was for the best.' He said, but then suddenly his eyes went wide with shock.

'Has he…Have you…'

I shook my head in denial. He released a sigh of relief, and I almost did so as well. I did not want to have this conversation with my brother!

'I know that you are capable of making your own decisions, you have been for about as long as I can remember. But, that day, I was angry and mad, and I didn't trust him. I know you told me that you did, but can you not see it from my eyes. You were marrying him to save us, and I thought he would want something from you in return. Of course I wasn't going to let it happen unless I had a guarantee that he would stick to his word.'

I swallowed. As much as it pained me to admit it, I could see why Alexander did it. It still didn't make it right, but I could understand.

'I really am sorry Arry. It was uncalled for.' He told me.

I nodded, I was just grateful I didn't have to fight him on this.

'So, can we put it behind us?' He asked, hopefully.

I nodded again, and gave him a small smile. My brother just let out a sigh of relief, and walked past me to the room.

'There better be food left!' He shouted, as he made his way towards the stew pot, and I almost laughed.

This was just what they were all like. I missed this, just having us all being together, talking and joking between us.

Ten more months. I just had to hold on for ten more months. I could do this. I could break this evil curse.

I would be able to join in their conversations, I would be able to shout and scream and sing and cry, I would be able to just speak.

I could do this.

I could survive.

I was going to win.

* * *

 _Green, I was surrounded by green._

 _Blinking, I let my eyes focus on what was around me._

 _Trees, leaves, dirt. I was in a forest._

 _I sat up, the scene before me becoming clearer and clearer._

 _Flowers surrounded me on all sides, as did twigs and fallen brown leaves. I tentatively raised my hand, about to push myself off the ground, when a flash of light reflected off my finger._

 _I glanced down, trying to see what was shining._

 _A ring._

 _There was a ring lying on my fourth finger._

 _But, it was not the plain gold band that usually resided there._

 _No, instead, a lovely bronze ring with a small amethyst sat on my finger, the fit perfect._

 _On my fourth finger of my left hand._

 _I recognised it. It was the ring I had found in my room that day I had left Milton. But I hadn't tried it on that finger, I didn't want to tempt fate._

 _But, here it was. Sat on my fourth finger like it belonged there._

 _Like a betrothal ring._

 _A loud giggle interrupted my thoughts, and my head snapped around to look at the source of the noise._

 _The giggle was followed by a lower laugh._

 _A man's laugh._

 _It sounded...familiar. Like I had heard it a hundred times before._

 _I couldn't see who was laughing. I couldn't see anyone._

 _I was alone in the forest._

 _I stood up, looking around me._

 _To my left, a small pond, with golden light reflecting off the surface of the water. Strange tree roots wove around the pond like a living cage._

 _I knew this place._

 _It was just off the path in the woods near Milton. I had been here many times before. I came on most Sundays, to read._

 _And to…to…_

 _My head spun._

 _Why had I been here so many times? There was something else, something I couldn't place._

 _There was another reason I had always come here._

 _The giggle sounded again, echoing lightly off the trees. My head snapped towards it._

 _Someone was running, I could hear footsteps._

 _No, two people were running. And laughing._

 _I knew them. I knew their voices._

 _A shape shot out from between the trees, and I watched as a girl ran in front of me, her hair streaming out behind her. Her long brown day dress was billowing in the wind, and her head turned slowly over her shoulder as she giggled._

 _I could only stare._

 _I knew that girl._

 _I knew her very well._

 _I knew her long brown hair, and her grey eyes. I knew her father's nose and her mother's features._

 _I simply watched in horror as I ran in front of myself._

 _That was me. Running through the forest, giggling._

 _The other me, turned to look at me, but didn't stop running. She gave me a small wicked smile, and then looked back to where she was going and ran off._

 _I stood frozen. I was watching myself!_

 _A male laugh followed after the apparition of me. I turned my head slowly to see who was laughing._

 _There was a man, running. I couldn't see his front, he had his back turned to me, but he was chasing the ghost of me through the forest._

 _Although I couldn't see his face, his bright red hair shone in the midday sun. His rough clothes showed that he was a lowborn._

 _I knew him. I felt it in my bones. I knew him somehow._

 _'_ _Him! That ginger boy!' A loud voice behind me yelled._

 _I turned around quickly to see an old man there. He was staring after the boy, his golden eyes shining bright._

 _My legs moved before I knew what was happening._

 _It was him. That evil wicked Faerie who had cursed my family. He was standing right behind me._

 _I stumbled backwards, out of pure fear. I couldn't let him do anything else to me._

 _I expected him to look cruel and angry, like he had done that day, but instead, his face was full of sorrow as he stared after the boy._

 _'_ _My spell, oh that one. That one worked perfectly.' He said._

 _Those were the same words he had said at Springbloom. But instead of laughing at me, he was just looking at the boy._

 _'_ _Sometimes, there are innocent casualties. We may be magic, but we can't help everyone. And sometimes, the benefits outweigh the costs, but it still costs dearly.'_

 _The faerie turned his head to meet my gaze. I wanted nothing more than to run. I never wanted to see him again, I just wanted to live in peace and never be cursed again._

 _But my legs wouldn't move. I couldn't move. Not because of magic, but because...because I wanted to hear this. I couldn't explain it, but something inside me wanted to hear what he had to say._

 _'_ _There are something things that have to be done, for the greater good. And I only hope, one day, that you will see why everything had to happen the way it did.' He told me. 'You had to suffer the most, but to save the most.'_

 _There were tears in my eyes, but I had no idea why. I felt them run down my face._

 _The boy's laugh sounded again, and I looked around._

 _He had stopped a little way behind the other me, he was staring directly at her. The other me was looking over the edge of a small hill, at the small pond._

 _My heart wanted to explode, and I had no idea why._

 _The other me opened her mouth to speak, and I recognised my own voice, my own words. 'It's beautiful.'_

 _The boy asked 'What is?'_

 _'_ _The view, it's beautiful.' The other me said._

 _'_ _Yes it is.' He replied, staring at the other me._

 _More tears fell down my face. I knew how this went, like I had seen in before. Or lived it before._

 _The other me turned around to smile at the boy. I still could not see his face, but some nagging part of my mind insisted that I knew him._

 _'_ _He will never forgive me. I know that.' The faerie said from behind me. 'But you will understand. One day.'_

 _I knew I should have turned to look at him, but I found I couldn't tear my eyes off the scene in front of me._

 _The other me was staring directly at the boy, her face alight with joy. I could see her perfectly. She was so happy, her eyes so full of love._

 _And something in my heart knew that it wouldn't stay that way. Something knew that it ended in tragedy._

 _'My time is coming to an end. It will not be long now. I have made my peace with it, but I have not made my peace with you. Not now, you've suffered too much. But one day, I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me when I am gone.'_

 _The scene before me froze, neither of the people moving. I just stared and stared._

 _'_ _This adventure is a long time planned, and has already started. There will be joy, but there will also be pain, and a great amount of suffering on your part. A great amount.'_

 _I found I didn't have to turn around to know that the faerie enchanter who had cursed my family had gone, and in his place stood the Fae fortune teller from the fair all those years ago._

 _'_ _Try and fight it all you want, but it will happen. There is no escaping your fate, no one can.'_

 _I still kept looking at the other me and the boy. They looked so happy, so hopeful. So completely unaware of the heartbreak ahead._

 _'_ _Be wary of happiness. Twice you will think you have found it, and twice it will be taken away.'_

 _The scene before me changed to black, the forest that was all around me disappearing. I watched as the other me and the boy vanished like smoke._

 _'_ _Someone else must defeat him, but you must endure. You have to endure.'_

 _Slowly, I turned around to face the fortune teller. She looked exactly as she had done in that ragged old tent, her turban balanced on her head, and her tattoos showing._

 _She gave me a sad smile._

 _'_ _I'm sorry for your loss. You have not lost them yet, but you will.'_

 _I swallowed. Why did it feel like I had already known the meaning of those words, like I had lived through parts of it?_

 _She gave me a respectful nod, and then also disappeared into smoke._

 _I was left all alone, surrounded by the blackness._

 _The ring lay heavily on my finger. The betrothal ring._

 _But as I looked down, I found that it was joined by another ring._

 _My wedding ring. The one James had given me._

 _Both were sat on my finger, side by side. And yet there was something about them that made me worry._

 _They felt wrong._

 _They felt like they shouldn't be together. Like there could only be one._

 _I watched as they tried to move apart from each other, my golden wedding ring slipping further down my finger, until it finally slipped off the end and clattered to the floor, leaving only the other ring in its place._

 _I reached down to pick up my fallen ring, but it disappeared into smoke just as I was about to grab it._

 _The blackness around me began to spin, faster and faster and faster. I stumbled from side to side as the entire world began to turn to fast._

 _It went faster and faster and faster, the blackness slowly fading until I could only see a bright white light. But the spinning wouldn't stop._

 _Round and round, faster and faster._

 _I opened my mouth to scream._

 _And then, the light flashed._

* * *

I jolted awake, sitting up immediately. Sweat ran down my back and my breaths came in large heavy gasps.

It was black, completely black.

I looked around frantically for some light, something.

But only darkness.

My breathing was getting shallower and shallower as the panic set in.

Where was I?

I felt sick, and dizzy, and I couldn't breathe.

My hand slipped off the side of the side of the bed, and I fell. Down and down and down, until my shoulder hit the floor with a loud bang.

I opened my mouth to cry out, but closed it again firmly.

I was not going to speak. I couldn't speak. I couldn't cry out in pain.

I tried to push myself up, but my shoulder hurt, and my arms felt weak and shaky. My breaths were still coming in short pants.

I looked up to the bed I had just fallen out of.

I recognised it.

It was my bed. I was in my bedroom in the manor.

There was a noise from the other side of the door on the far side of the room, but I paid it no attention.

Everything was shaking. My hands, my arms, my shoulders. Even my legs shook a little.

I still couldn't breathe. It was like I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. The panic just set in deeper and deeper as the cold began to envelop me.

The door across the room was flung open, and golden light poured out from the doorframe.

I didn't look up. I still couldn't breathe. I needed to breath. I needed air.

The dizziness began to surround me, and I shook uncontrollably.

'Marion! Marion!'

I didn't look, but felt something warm wrap around my shoulders. A blanket.

'Breathe, just breathe, it was only a nightmare. In…'

I breathed in.

'And out…'

I let the breath go.

'Good. In…and out.' The voice repeated. I did the same thing again.

The dizziness began to abate slightly.

'Again, and again. Good. Well done. Again, again, again.'

I did exactly as he said.

Eventually, the dizziness vanished completely, and I was able to breath normally again.

I looked up to see James, his brow furrowed with concern.

He didn't say anything, as I pushed forward and buried my face in his neck. His arms tightened around me as I tried to get the shaking under control.

I had seen myself. A past self or future self I didn't know.

Who was that man? The red haired one?

And he had been there, the faerie. The one who had cursed my family.

But he hadn't seemed evil, only remorseful.

He had spoken to me, with remorse!

I didn't know what to think, what to feel.

'It's alright. It was only a nightmare.' James said, kissing the top of my head lightly.

I wanted to believe him. I desperately did.

But no of it seemed like a nightmare. It seemed like a memory.

It had seemed so real.

James just held onto me tightly as I began to calm myself down.

I couldn't have been; it must have been a nightmare. I couldn't have possibly been anything else.

I had to be rational about this. It was only a nightmare. I couldn't hurt me. It wasn't real.

None of it had been real.

After several minutes, I had calmed down enough to remove myself from James's arms. He looked at me with such a look of concern that my heart almost broke.

'Are you going to be alright?' He asked.

I blinked at him. I honestly didn't know. I didn't really want to close my eyes again if I was going to see the faerie.

I shrugged.

James just nodded.

A yawn rose up inside of me, it was still the middle of the night after all. But James too must also be exhausted, but he waited patiently.

'You need to get some sleep.' He said gently. He stood and offered me his hand, pulling me up. He led me back to my bed, but I hesitated before getting into it.

I was tired, utterly exhausted. But I didn't want the nightmare to come back.

'Will you be alright?' James asked again.

This time, I shook my head.

I didn't want to be alone. Not if he could come back to me in my dreams. I couldn't face him. Not again.

James just squeezed me shoulder gently.

'Would you…Would you like me to stay?' He asked quietly.

I swallowed. I wasn't sure. I just knew I didn't want to be alone.

'Nothing else, just sleeping.' He clarified. 'But if you want me to stay, I will.'

I really did not want to be left alone. Not if he could come back.

And so, I nodded.

James loosed a breath, and then walked to close the door he had come through. He blew out the candle, and guided me into the bed. I slid across the sheets and he followed, the bed dipping a little under his weight.

If it had been any other night, I was sure I would have panicked about how my husband was in my bed, with me. But I trusted him, and I needed him there tonight. He lay back on the pillows and turned his head to me. He gave me a reassuring smile before letting his arms spread a little. I moved towards him, and shifted myself so I was laying in his arms, my head resting on the top of his chest.

It felt a little odd, being so close to him, and so intimate. But in a nice and reassuring kind of way. His arms tightened around me, holding me close to him.

My eyelids began to droop, just as James pressed a small kiss to my hair.

'Sleep well, my love.' He said softly.

Safely wrapped in his arms, I let myself fall back under the blissful tide of sleep.

And I didn't have a single nightmare for the rest of the night.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six.**

 **The Castle.**

Three months.

Three months of utter hell.

It was torture, each and every day.

This damned curse.

That evil horrid vindictive Fae.

He had cost me my happiness, my future, my world.

We were all confined to the castle grounds. There was no escape. No way out. We had tried, again and again and again, but no one could get past.

Locked up, cursed, forgotten about.

Hell seemed like a much better alternative than living like this.

Anything seemed like a better alternative than this.

What had we done to deserve such a fate? Other than what the Lord had done, why had the rest of us been dragged into this?

We had been good people, with lives and families and people we cared about. And he had taken that all away from us.

It had taken almost an entire month for the rage to die down. Not that I still wasn't angry. But in that first month….

I had spent hours pounding at the gates, screaming for them to open and let me out. Day after day, hour after hour, I would yell and shout and roar and try to beat those gates down. But nothing.

The worst day came a week after the curse.

That Saturday.

My wedding day.

It was supposed to have been the happiest day of my life. They day that I declared in front of everyone I cared about that I was going to love her for the rest of time, and that she was going to love me forever.

We had spent hours and hours together planning it, planning our future.

And he took it all away from me.

That day, all I had had done was scream. Scream in the hopes that someone on the outside would hear and open the gates.

We were going to get married. We were going to live in the tiny little cottage on the outskirts of Milton. We were going to have beautiful children who shared their mother's passion for life.

But she couldn't even remember I existed. And likely never would.

That was what hurt the most.

The knowledge that not only was I never going to see her again, but knowing that she had no clue who I was. She wouldn't be able to remember the promises we had made to each other, She wouldn't be able to remember my marriage proposal, the lines I had spent hours trying to write. She wouldn't remember our first kiss; she wouldn't remember dancing with me at the Duke's palace. She wouldn't remember just meeting by chance in the forest that afternoon, the one that completely changed my world.

I meant nothing to her. I wasn't her betrothed, or friend or anything. I wasn't even someone she used to court. I was literally nothing to her.

But she was still my everything.

Being left with the memories drove me insane. My dream were constantly full of her; and only her. I would relive our encounters, those moments when I fell more and more deeply in love with her with each passing second. But I would wake to remember that it was all over, and she was never coming back to me. I would reach out for her in the dark, and her image would fade before my eyes to moonlight.

The others tried to tell me to hope, but I knew it was pointless. The only way to break the damned curse was for someone, anyone to fall in love with the master, and for him to fall in love with them. But he had locked himself in his rooms, not even leaving to eat. Mrs Potter left plates of food outside his room, and she would return to find them empty.

There was no chance of him leaving his room, let alone finding someone to fall in love with him. Especially as he was now. I had only gotten a brief look at his new form, and it was hideous. If he couldn't get someone to fall in love with him as a human, then there was no hope of anyone falling in love with him in is current state.

Which then meant that none of us were ever going to be free of the curse. And while everyone was suffering and miserable, I was almost certain I had it the worst.

Thompson had always lived for his work, and so consequently knew very few people outside the castle, and he wasn't close enough with anyone to miss them.

Mrs Potter had Teddy. She had her son with her. And Teddy had Agnes. They still played together, distracting each other from how awful everything was.

Lucien still had Polly. At least they were cursed together. He got to see his wife every day.

Whereas the girl who was meant to be my wife didn't even know I was alive. Or care.

Three months. Anything could have happened in three months.

The thought of it kept me awake at night.

What was she doing? How was she living? What was her life like now?

Part of my hoped and prayed with all my might that she was still exactly as I left her. Working at Madam Cartwright's, filling her days sewing and talking with Amelia and Isabelle.

But part of me knew that it was only a fantasy.

She was beautiful, and fierce and just incredible. There would be someone else, of that I was almost certain. If she couldn't remember who I was, then she would find someone. No matter how much I loved her, she didn't love me anymore.

My heart had shattered completely that day. On the day that was meant to be our wedding day. Because that was the day I knew for certain that I had lost her forever.

The rational part of me knew that I should want her to be happy. And I did want her to be happy, more than anything else in the world. But I wanted her to be happy…with me.

We had been so close, just a week away from being married. If the master had had his damned party one week later, I wouldn't have been there. I would have been at the cottage with my new wife, so happy and loved.

But instead, I was here. Trapped, alone, and forgotten about.

I knew I would have to come to terms with it, one day. Knew I'd have to accept that she would have lived her life completely without me. She would fall in love with some other man, get married, have children, have a life. And that would kill me.

It was supposed be our life. Our future. Our happiness. She would maybe find it again, but as long as she was lost to me, I would not.

And no one was coming to break the curse.

There was no hope for us.

None at all.

My beautiful bride to be was lost to me forever.

And there was nothing anyone could do.

She was gone.

Marion was gone.

 **END OF PART 3.**


	27. Author's note

**Author's Note**

Hey Everyone.

Once sgain, I'd like to start by thanking you all so much for still reading my story! You have no idea how much it means to me, and also how excited I get whenever I see I have a review! So, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you all! Thank you so much to those people who have left reviews ! You really have made my day on several occasions. Please continue to leave many reviews on future chapters! Just a quick shout out to parazesis for the amazing reviews. You always put a smile on my face!

I'd just like to point out one small thing. I know many of you will be leaning one way or the other, whether Marion should end up with James or Jack. I do know how the story is going to end, and I do already know who ( if either of them! She is very independent! ) she ends up with, and I can't say that everyone will be happy, they all can't live happily ever after. But I'd just like to point out that Marion is no gold digger. If she does end up with James, it will not be because he can buy her endless dresses, and give her libraries and other things. Marion only married James because she was in serious trouble and didn't see another way out of it. If it had purely been for material gain, she never would have considered it.

It is perfectly fine to prefer James over Jack (my beta has made his feelings on the matter perfectly clear. He is a strong James supporter) , they have very different personalities, but please don't just prefer James because he is richer. Marion wouldn't.

( It only really occurred to me, after writing quite a bit of this, that maybe I should have chosen slightly different names. My beta pointed out we can't really make 'ship names' for them, as they would both make 'Jarion' and that would a be a little confusing. Next time, if I attempt to write anything else, I will actually think about what I'm doing next time. But for now, we'll just have to go with Jack or James.)

Sorry, rant over.

I'd like to thank my amazing Beta, who has put up with my many, many spelling mistakes and rants. I'm sure he's sick of my messages, asking what he thought of various parts. So, thank you for putting up with me!

Part 4 will be up fairly soon, I hope. It has been started, and I will be starting to publish AHC again, there are certain parts of the story that won't make much sense unless you read the one shots. As the story is from Marion's point of view, there are certain things that happen 'behind the scenes' as it were, out of Marion's vision, but are still crucial to certain things. It should be fairly easy to join the dots, but if you want the actual story, read those.

Sorry for leaving the end of this part on a sad and depressing note, yet again. I do feel really bad for what I'm making Jack go through. And Marion. And James, and Blanche, and all the Browns, and most other people in this story. In my mind, I have apologised to all of them, many times, as I'm quite sure most of them would hate me.

But I really hope you guys don't hate me, and continue to read this story, only 2 more Parts to go! ( and no, I have no idea how it ended up this long!)

I can't express enough how amazing all of you are, for continuing to read. And I hope you enjoyed this part.

Next part up soon!

Generic Fangirl.

* * *

UPDATE- 18/4/18

I will beginning posting the next part of the story on Sunday (British time), and post a chapter once a week. Sorry about the large gap, but this part seems to be taking far longer than I thought it would. I'm only writing chapter 13, and already the word count has exceeded the total word count of AHB. But I am determined to get this finished, I'm not going to leave the story on an hiatus.

The next part, A Heroine's Resolution continues Marion's story, picking up almost exactly where AHE left of. I'm also going to start to publish the next few one shots in AHC, as there are certain other stories that effect Marion's story that she doesn't get to see, but are still quite important.

As ever, thank you all so much for reading, and thank you especially to those who review, and I hope you stick with this story (it will be finished, one day!)

Generic Fangirl.


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